A Wise Snake
by SeththeGreat
Summary: Snake's been through a lot during his lifetime, but he endured, never allowing suffering to get the better of him. Now retired from Smash and fighting all together, Snake lives a calm, simple life. But he's still got more to offer. A vast amount of wisdom gained through all those hardships. Some Smasher's have problems and need advice. Good thing he's willing to share some.
1. Paying a Visit

**So I've been writing some pretty dark material with Demon Snake and Wasteland so I decided to make something a little more light-hearted. This draws a slight inspiration from an OLD story you can find in the Smash Bros section called Cardboard Therapy. It was a really nice and fun story that had a lot going for it but sadly went dead. I say slightly because the only concept I'm using is Snake helping people get through their problems, which is something that's a part of his character in the series. Snake's character is something I try to get across to the reader in my other stories. I really don't like him being portrayed as an old perverted soldier that's stalking Samus. It's just a really poor representation of the character. There's a lot to him and one of the things he has going for him is wisdom. He's always willing to offer the younger characters advice on how to improve their lives, and his advice definitely has influence. So I really like the idea of him giving advice to the characters in Smash, many of whom are much younger than he is. Enjoy.**

* * *

It was the middle of winter. Princess Peach was travelling up a mountain, alone, in the freezing weather. The very idea of doing so sounds horrifying, but Peach had no fear. She had a reason for doing so, and this wasn't her first time doing so. Finally she found what she was looking for, a small log cabin located not too high on the mountain. She approached the door to the cabin and knocked three times. Just a few seconds later, the owner of the house opened the door. It was Solid Snake, a legendary soldier and Smash fighter now living in retirement. The grizzled veteran smiled as he saw the princess.

"Oh, I didn't realize it was that time of the week again." He laughed. "God it's freezing! Hurry and come inside." He insisted and let Peach into his humble abode. The place was very similar to the home Snake lived in during his time in Alaska. It wasn't very big but it was cozy, and Snake was happy to call it home.

"Lucky for you I had just finished making some hot coco. It's on the table, you can have it to warm yourself up. Though it's definitely not nearly as good as anything you can make." Snake laughed, as did Peach. She took a sip of the drink, and was pleased with the taste. "So how was it? Did I screw it up again?" He asked.

"No! Actually this was very good! You've gotten a lot better at this." She complimented him.

"Well I've been practicing ever since you taught me."

"Be sure to keep it up." She giggled.

Peach then made two cups of her famed tea, for the both of them. She sat with Snake in his living room next to his fire place. This wasn't the first time though, this was actually something Peach started doing once a week since a few months ago. After not being picked up for the fourth tournament, Snake decided to hang it up. No more fighting, be it war or Smash. He retired and was now living a simple, comfortable life. And she knew that if anyone deserved such a life, it was him. He had a very hard life, and had almost every reason to be bitter at the world and to the people around him. Yet he never allowed his hardships to get to him, and now it seemed that was paying off. But Peach didn't want him to just be isolated up in this mountain. It couldn't be good for anybody. So she came to his house one day and had a visit with him. Then another one the next week, and then it became a tradition. She promised to pay him a visit once a week so they could catch up with each other. But she didn't do it just for his sake, she just really enjoyed talking to him. Not just because he was a good friend, but because unbeknownst to the others, Snake was full of wisdom, wisdom that he was more than willing to share. When she had a problem, she'd tell him about it. And somehow he would always have an answer to make it all better.

"So what's new Peach?" He asked and took a small sip of his tea.

"Quite eventful actually. Three new fighters have joined in. One's already arrived, his name his Cloud Strife." She said and handed Snake a picture of him. Snake looked at the picture of the blonde man and his eyes widened. Peach noticed it. "What is it Snake?"

"Okay…I remember being very surprised about Ike being able to wield a greatsword with one arm, but I just went ahead with it since Ike's a pretty muscular guy. But this! Look at his sword! This shit is unreal!" Snake ranted, making Peach laugh again. She told him the names of the other two fighters, Corrin and Bayonetta, but her knowledge of them was very limited so she promised to tell him more when she could.

"So how have you been Snake?" Peach questioned and sipped her tea.

"Well you know me. Not much. Just a little bit of work, gathering some food, going to the forest every so often for some wood. I am thinking about picking up a Christmas tree like you suggested." Snake said, giving Peach a glowing smile.

"Can I help you decorate it?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He smiled.

They talked a little more, going back and forth, but during the conversation Snake was picking up on something. He could tell that something was bothering Peach, and she was trying her hardest to hide the fact.

"What's on your mind Peach? You can tell me?" He asked in a more serious tone. Peach sighed, she really couldn't keep anything from Snake could she.

"There's been some instances of fighters arguing. They argue over the most trivial stuff but I still don't want them to fight. It's uncomfortable to me and to everyone else around me. So…"

"Let me guess. You try to play the peace-maker right?"

"Yes but I always fail! I can never get them to stop arguing!" She said sadly.

"Peach, you can't fail at something that's not you're responsibility." Snake said. Peach looked to him perplexed to his meaning.

"The reason you feel like a failure is because you think that it's your responsibility to keep the others in line. But it isn't, it's Master Hand's. So I suggest that you go ahead and tell him that you shouldn't be trying to do his job for him." Snake advised her. "Bottom line is, it's not your fault if you can't resolve a situation that you weren't apart or is not in your control. Do you understand? C'mon...I don't like seeing you upset." Snake begged.

 _Man I've really gotten soft over the years haven't I?_

Peach snapped out of her saddened mood, motivated by Snake's words. "Yeah, I understand." She smiled.

"Hey! There's that smile back!"

* * *

After a couple of hours, their little visit was about over and Snake led Peach to the door. He gave her a thick coat before she went out.

"Here. This'll be a lot more useful for you than for me. You can keep it as long as you want."

Peach gave Snake a sweet smile and gave Snake a small kiss on the cheek, surprising Snake as his body temporarily locked up.

"You know Snake, there's a whole side of you that the others don't know about. One that's filled with wisdom and the will to help others. There's so much advice you have to offer. I wish the others could see it."

"Heh, maybe someday. Goodnight Peach."

"Goodnight Snake."


	2. Powerless

Captain Falcon was never much of a talker. Though his behavior during his fights said otherwise, with him coming off as loud, confident and arrogant. He was a showman on stage, but when he was off camera he became more of a loner. He didn't stick around post-match to talk to any of his peers and he didn't hang out with any of them on his days off. It's not that he didn't like the others on the roster. Far from it actually. He had the upmost respect for the majority of them. Perhaps the one he respected the most was the man that lived in this cabin in the mountains, Solid Snake. Falcon liked to believe that Snake and he had some sort of friendship between them. During the third tournament, he would talk with Snake every now and then, something he didn't do with everybody. They didn't talk much, but they would talk. But now Falcon wanted to talk. He had something bothering him and he wanted to talk about it. He didn't know why but he only felt comfortable sharing it with Snake. Falcon knocked three times on Snake's door. After a few seconds, the door opened, and the two men were face to face.

"Hello Douglas." Snake greeted, having gotten familiar enough to be on a first-name basis with Falcon.

"Hey Snake, it's good to see you. Do you mind if I come in?" Falcon asked politely.

"Of course not! Step inside, I'll get you something to drink."

Falcon took a seat in Snake's living room while Snake went into the kitchen.

"What can I get you?" Snake asked.

"I'll just take some water."

"Alright."

Snake walked over to the living room and handed Falcon his drink before sitting down across from him.

"Nice of you to pay me a visit."

"It's been awhile since we saw each other hasn't it?" Falcon asked.

"It sure has. Though I'm sure you can tell from this place, I haven't had anything interesting going for me during that time. But that's the why I like it now. Just plain and simple. What about you?"

"Just the usual. Smash, tournaments, fighting. You know how it is." Falcon replied.

"Heh. Yeah I remember those times." Snake chuckled. Falcon then decided to get right to the point.

"I'm sure you've already figured out that I'm not here to just make small talk."

"Figured it out as soon as you walked through the door."

"I thought so. You were always that good at picking up on those things." Falcon laughed a little.

"Well whatever you want to talk about, I'm all ears." Snake assured.

"Thanks Snake. I appreciate that." Falcon said genuinely. "I lied when I said "just the usual" has been going on as of late. Something happened two nights ago in the bounty hunting part of my life."

"Wasn't sure if you still did that job on the side." Snake admitted.

"I still do. I might hang it up soon, especially after what happened recently."

"A situation went south?" Snake guessed.

"Pretty much." Falcon sighed. "I was chasing the perp down on foot. He was fast, but I knew I was faster. I was going to catch him eventually. But the son of a bitch was also aware of that, so he had something up his sleeve. I turned a corner to find him holding a young woman at gunpoint. He told me if I come any closer he'd kill her. So I listened to his demands. We ended up coming to a deal. I'd let him get away for now if he spared the lady. So he stared backing away from me, saying that once he felt he was far enough, he'd let her go…"

"He didn't keep his end of the deal did he?" Snake came to the conclusion.

"Yep. Once he got far enough, he killed her…and took off." Falcon finished and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sure you've heard worse stories, and seen worse events, but this is what happened with me. And it's been on my mind ever since."

"Things like that happen all the time. And you're right, I've seen them and heard them. But I don't feel like the circumstances of the situations matter. The bottom line is that an innocent person died, and that's never easy to hear." Snake explained. "I think I know what it is that's bothering you about this. You don't want to hear the whole "It's not your fault" pity that people usually get from these situations. Because you know that it wasn't your fault. What's bothering you is that there was nothing you could do about it right?"

"I feel like you're a mind reader sometimes." Falcon said confirming Snake's assumptions. "Yeah, it's really depressing that all I could do was watch as he killed that woman. I was powerless. If I would've made a move he would have killed her, but by not making a move he killed her."

"Well Douglas, there's nothing I can say that'll make this problem better overnight, but I'll tell you this…" Snake began. "I've been in situations similar to this in the past. I know it's hard, but don't beat yourself up over what happened. That's not going to improve the situation. What's important is that you bring the son of a bitch that did this to justice. Only then will you find some closure out of this. I think that's what that lady would've wanted too."

The advice snapped Falcon out of his state of self-pity. "Yeah…yeah you're right! That bastard is still on the run. I'll find him, and I won't let him get away next time!" Falcon said confidently.

"I know you will." Snake smiled. Falcon turned to face Snake and firmly shook his hand.

"Snake...thank you!"

* * *

Falcon made good on his promise. Within two days he found the murderer again and apprehended him with ease. He was brought to prison and Falcon was given the money for the bounty. But he didn't take the money for himself, instead giving all of it to the family of the woman. Afterwards, Falcon had finally felt at peace with himself.


	3. Owning Up to Your Mistakes

Every so often, Snake would take a night on the town in Smashville, dressed in his tan-colored trench coat. And tonight was one of those nights. Why he went on these exactly he wasn't sure. Maybe it was to spice things up, take a break from living in the mountains. He took a stop at a restaurant, a Hylian one, for something to eat.

" _Man, I forgot these Hylians can make a damn good meal."_ He thought as he took a bite into his meal. He got the bill, and being satisfied with the service, left a good tip.

"Have a good night sir!" A woman at the front said as he left. He turned and waved to her before he exited.

 _Good people, those Hylians. Always polite_.

"Enjoy my people's cooking?" A male asked behind Snake. It was a familiar voice.

"Why yes I did Link." Snake chuckled and turned to face the green clad hero.

"Didn't know you came to the city. Why don't you give one of us the memo when you do?"

"You know me. I don't really like to make my presence known." Snake shrugged.

"Want to take a walk? I've been wanting to catch up with you." Link offered.

"Sure." He said and began walking with the swordsman. They did the usual small talk. They took a stop at a bench to take a seat.

"So how'd you know where to find me?" Snake asked suddenly.

"It was a coincidence." Link claimed.

Snake shook his head. "Link. Has anyone ever told you how bad of a liar you are?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You didn't show any surprise when you saw me. And if you wanted to catch up on things, you could've visited me at my house. Why didn't you?"

"I…" Link went silent trying to come up with an answer.

"Never mind that. Anyway I'll ask you again. How did you know where to find me?" Snake asked firmly.

"Friend of mine that works at the restaurant told me that you come there about every week, usually on a Tuesday. So I hung around." Link came clean.

"So what do you want from me?"

"Advice. I've got a bit of a problem and I've been told that you give pretty good advice."

"What's the problem?"

"I injured Marth during a Smash fight." Link confessed.

"Well Link, you're in a sport that is about fighting. Accidental injuries are bound to happen." Snake reasoned.

"But it wasn't an accident."

"What?!"

"I got carried away. I let that desire to win get out of control, that dark side of me, and I broke his arm."

"Damn. What the hell got you so worked up?" Snake asked.

"I don't know man! He had me in a tight spot and I just snapped!"

"Okay. So other than breaking his arm, what else is the problem?"

"I didn't even apologize to him afterwards." Link gravely admitted.

"Okay…that is a problem. You need to apologize to him."

"I know…but I can't bring myself to show my face to him. I'm too ashamed."

"Link, I'll be straight with you. This is something I wouldn't expect from someone who wields the Triforce of Courage." Snake scolded.

"What?"

"You need to put that guilt, that fear aside! You need to go up to him and you need to own up to what you did!"

"You're right. But what…what if he doesn't want to see me?"

"Don't worry about that. You need go to talk to him, whether he's comfortable with it or not. If you accept responsibilities for your actions, then you'll earn his respect back. He may not show it at first, but trust me, you'll earn it."

"You sure?" Link asked.

"I'm damn sure. And I'm also damn sure that if you don't do this, you will lose Marth's respect. So you need to make a choice."

"Yeah. It's time to stop being a coward. I'm going to talk to him." Link clinched his fist. "Good goddesses. I can't imagine how I must look to you. I'm supposed to be the Hero of Time, and you're seeing me in this huge moment of weakness…" he lamented.

Snake patted Link on the shoulder. "Kid, showing emotions isn't a sign of weakness. Guilt is something that shows you have a conscience. I don't think less of you because of this, especially since you're going to do something about it." Link lifted his head up and looked to Snake, his mood feeling much better.

"You didn't have to tell me any of this, but you still decided to. That's courage right there."

"Peach was right." Link laughed.

"Right about what?" Snake wondered.

"You're really good at giving advice."

"Oh…so she's telling people that. Figures."

"Thanks Snake. I'll see you later, I've got some business to take care of." Link waved to Snake as he took off.

 _Good luck kid. I know you'll make things right._

Snake turned around and resumed his walk through the city. He stopped and took a look at a building that he wasn't familiar with. He read the sign.

 _7_ _th_ _Heaven Bar. Never seen this place before. Must've just opened. I guess I'll pay a visit._


	4. Questions and Answers (Part 1 of 2)

Snake opened the door and entered the bar. He looked around and examined the building.

 _Hmm, nice place. Not too fancy, but not a low-end biker bar. Just a cozy and welcoming bar._

"Hello sir! Have a seat, I'll be with you in a minute!" A young woman with long brown hair greeted him. Snake waved to the woman and took a seat near the counter.

"I haven't seen this place before. When'd this place open?" Snake asked the woman.

"Just a few days ago. With Cloud being apart a Smash, his friends are allowed to settle here, and even set up their own businesses." She explained.

"So you're a friend of the new guy? The one with the giant sword and weird blonde hair?" He questioned.

The woman laughed at his description of Cloud. "That's right. My name is Tifa. Tifa Lockhart. And this is my bar." She introduced herself. "Can I ask who you are stranger?"

"Name's Snake." He said with a grin, expecting the next question to come.

"That's your name? That can't be true, that's ridiculous!" Tifa laughed.

"If your friend can go by a name as dumb as Cloud, then there's no reason my name can't be Snake." He humorously retorted. "Nah, it's not my real name. It's my codename. It's just been used for so long that it might as well be my name."

"I see. Okay Snake, what can I get for you?"

"I don't really drink anymore. Can you just get me a water?"

"Coming right up!" Tifa said and went to get his drink. Snake looked up to a television mounted on a wall, broadcasting Smash matches. It was currently showing Mario versus Bowser. He heard some commotion going on in the back. He turned to see four thugs, harassing a little girl.

"Little brat made me spill my drink!" One of them said and grabbed the girl by the arm.

"I-I said I was sorry! I'll get you a refill real quick for no charge!" the child pleaded. Tifa saw what was going on and rushed over to the situation.

"You take your hands off her!" Tifa demanded in an angry tone.

"Hey relax lady, we ain't hurt her…yet." One of them said and the thugs turned to face Tifa. Snake got out of his chair and got involved.

"Let go of the kid or else…" Snake threatened now standing beside Tifa.

"Or else wh-"

Snake threw a glass bottle right into the face of the man holding Marlene, the impact made it shatter to pieces. The man cried in pain and released Marlene. Snake rushed to Marlene and picked her up. Tifa began attacking the group of thugs with Snake. One charged towards Snake, but was floored by a kick to the head. It was all Snake could manage, as he was currently holding with his arms. He quickly ran over to the counter and put her down there.

"You wait here until Tifa and I get rid of these guys, okay?" He instructed the Marlene.

"O-Okay. Thank you!"

Snake charged back into the fight and assisted Tifa with the attackers. As they were both experts in martial arts, Snake and Tifa were able to knock the men out within a minute by working together. Afterwards, Snake helped Tifa kick them out of the bar and back onto the street. He wiped a single drop of sweat from his forehead.

"So do you think I can still get that water?" He jokingly asked, to which Tifa smiled at him.

* * *

Snake, Tifa and Marlene sat together at a table in the empty bar. Tifa got him his water he requested, and they sat down to chat.

"I wanted to thank you for helping Marlene back there. That was very kind of you." She expressed her sincere gratitude.

Snake waved his hand dismissively. "Oh please! From what I saw you could have handled those four by yourself. I was just trying to steal a little bit of your thunder." He joked. "Seriously though Tifa, you're one hell of a fighter. I wonder why the hell you aren't in Smash."

"Well thank you! Even though I'm a bit busy at times, I always try to make room to keep training."

"Good. Keep it up." He told her with a thumbs up.

"What about you Mr. Snake?" Marlene asked. "You aren't giving yourself enough credit! I saw you fight, and you were incredible!"

"I try my best." Snake responded.

"No she's right! You're really downplaying your skills. You were amazing back there. How come you aren't in Smash?" She echoed an earlier statement.

"Well I was…" Snake answered, shocking Tifa and Marlene.

"What!? Really?!" Tifa asked, eager to know more.

"Yeah. Third-generation Smasher, but even before Smash I had been fighting for most of my life. I had a feeling I wasn't going to get picked up for the fourth tournament, plus I was already getting old, so I decided to retire."

"I see. So what are you doing now?"

"I'm living in a cabin in the mountain near the stadium."

"Really? That's where you'd go to live if you wanted to be a hermit. Don't you get lonely up there?"

"Not really. I've got a lady friend that visits me every week, serves me some tea. And then I take a trip to the city when I'm feeling up to it, like I am now."

"Does it ever get boring?" Marlene asked.

"It does, and that's just the way I like it." Snake replied. "Though I'm never opposed to having some company."

Tifa thought of something and a smile grew on her face, one Snake noticed.

"What did I say something funny?"

"No, but you've really got me interested. I'd like for you to hear me out on what I'm about to ask."

"Okay, I'm all ears."

"So you want me to continue training right?"

"Of course."

"Well I don't have work tomorrow, so how about I pay you a visit and you train with me? I mean who would be a better sparring partner than a former Smasher?"

"Train with me eh? Sure, I've got to equipment for some training. Ok Tifa, come on over tomorrow, and be ready." Snake said.

"I will." She responded and shook his hand.

* * *

Sure enough Tifa kept her word. Now she was going up a mountain early in the morning to train with an old fighter. It sounded like something out of a martial arts movie. Though she really did want to train, it wasn't her only reason making this request. There was something about Snake that intrigued her. For one he just walked into her bar last night not knowing who she was, and he put himself in harm's way to protect Marlene, a girl he has no personal connection with. From that she made the assumption that he was a good man, who did what he did because it was the right thing to do. And then there was the fact that he was a retired Smash fighter. That caught her interest as well. She had been curious as to what exactly this Smash Brothers organization is like. She wanted to know more about what Cloud was getting into. She was worried about him.

 _Worry...it seems that's all I ever do these days…_

Though she felt that she was somewhat justified with her worries. Cloud hadn't come home last night, again. And when he did come home he was distant, and didn't want to talk about himself. She would have to put those worries aside for now, as she arrived at Snake's home.

She approached Snake's cabin and knocked on the front door. It quickly opened and Snake came out, dressed in his Sneaking Suit he used to wear in combat, along with his signature bandana.

"Oh good! You're here. Let's not waste any time. Follow me." He commanded. She followed him to a yard behind his cabin. "We'll begin with basic exercises, starting with Sandbag. Speaking of which, good morning Sandbag!" Snake waved to a sandbag. Tifa looked perplexed, wondering why Snake was speaking to the bag like it was a person.

"Oh good morning Mr. Snake! Are we going to be training today?" The Sandbag suddenly spoke in a polite voice, two little black eyes appearing on it.

"Did the sandbag just talk?!" Tifa asked as her eyes widened.

"Oh dear! My apologizes! I wasn't aware we had a guest. Good morning ma'am, my name is Sandbag, and I am happy to assist in any training you may need."

"Sandbag, this is Tifa. She's going to be training with us today." Snake said.

"Training for two! Splendid!" The bag cheered.

"Alright Tifa why don't you start by hitting Sandbag."

"Wait no! I don't want to hurt him! Not if he's sentient, and not to mention so polite!" She protested.

"Oh miss Tifa! I appreciate your kindness but I assure you that I am incapable of feeling any pain from attacks. My purpose is to help others train and nothing makes me happier than to see others improve!"

"C'mon Tifa don't worry! Sandbag can take anything anyone can dish out." Snake assured her.

"Are you sure Sandbag?" She asked.

"Positive Miss Tifa!"

"Alright then." Tifa obliged and began hitting the bag. True to his word, the bag did not show any signs of pain from the powerful blows she was performing. "So Snake?" She began as she practiced.

"What's up?"

"Aside from training, there's actually somethings I want to talk with you about while I'm here."

"Like what?"

"A lot of things. About you, about Smash Bros. Things like that."

"Hmm…alright then. But you're going to have to work for those questions. Spend about ten more minutes on the bag, and we'll take a break and I'll give you three questions. Sound good?"

"Sounds good!" She smiled.

* * *

After finishing up with the bag, Snake allowed her a breather and they sat at his porch drinking some water.

"You earned yourself three questions. Make them count."

 _Alright Tifa! Focus on the important questions!_

"I've heard rumors about a major incident that occurred during the third tournament. Something about…slipspace…" she struggled to recall.

"Subspace. The Subspace Emissary incident." He corrected her.

"So it's real!"

"Yeah, it was real. Multiple universes would have been destroyed if we hadn't stopped it."

"Do you think something like that might happen again?" She quickly asked. She feared another incident would occur, and then Cloud would have to fight it.

"It's not impossible, but it's highly unlikely. Tabuu is gone, Master Hand has regained firm control and doesn't look like he's losing it, and all the fighters that helped instigate the incident certainly know not to try it again. So I'd say don't worry about it. Your friend is in good hands."

Tifa was shocked that he saw through her and knew that the question wasn't about her safety, but Cloud's. Still, she found relief in that answer. She appreciated how he was straight forward with her. She then took note of his get up. It was very commando get up.

"Can I ask about your outfit? It doesn't really look like any martial arts uniform that I know of."

"Because it's not. I was military, a soldier. Stealth agent was what I was known best for, and this is the type of suit I would use for stealth missions."

"So that's what you meant when you said you had been fighting long before Smash."

"That's right." Snake confirmed.

He didn't look fond of those memories, memories of fighting in wars for over 20 years. She attempted to use her final question to lighten up the mood.

"Got any family?" She asked. This immediately backfired.

"They're all dead, with my twin brother and father dying by my own hand." He answered in a "matter of fact" tone of voice. Tifa's jaw dropped, immediately regretting what she just asked.

"I am so sorry!" She apologized, her voice shaking, worried that she had pissed him off enough to want her out of his sight.

"Don't worry about it. I know you meant well." He said to calm her down. There was silence between the two for a moment. Snake finished his drink. "Alright you're out of questions, if you want more you're going to have to spar with me."

He stood up and walked toward the area where they would spar. Tifa got up and followed him. Though that last question gave her quite a grizzly shock, she had learned something important about Snake. And that was she could confide in him about loss. She was amazed that he was being so transparent with her questions, especially the last one. He didn't have to tell the truth, he didn't even have to answer, but he did anyway. Tifa promised herself that after the sparring match, she would be truthful to him. As far as she was concerned, he earned it.


	5. Questions and Answers (Part 2 of 2)

Tifa and Snake stood across from each other, getting ready for battle. Tifa was curious as to what his fighting style was, only getting to see a brief glimpse of it during that bar room brawl. Snake got into his combat stance.

"Get ready!" He shouted to her. She shifted her focus to the battle at hand, shaking any other thoughts out of her head.

"GO!"

With her superior speed, she approached Snake and attacked with a dashing punch, but Snake was able to dodge it easily. Snake went for a right hook, but Tifa ducked below it. She went for two jabs with her left fist, both of which were blocked. When she went for a right cross, Snake caught her hand and allowed the art of CQC to show itself, as he slammed her to the ground with a throw. Tifa got back to her feet and went back on the offensive. She attacked with a barrage of punches, all of them were being blocked by Snake.

 _Just keep it up! He can't block forever!_

She was right, but not in the sense she wanted to be. Snake stopped blocking, but only to parry Tifa's attack, hitting her with a right hook that floored her. She had wondered before the battle if Snake was going to be one of those people that was going to use restraint just because she was a woman. After that attack, any thoughts of that disappeared. He wasn't fooling around.

"You can attack, but that will only get you so far if you don't have a good defense." He lectured her as she was got back up. She noticed he was walking towards her, so she would have to get ready to defend as soon as she got up. She got to her feet and Snake attacked. She blocked two of his jabs, but he landed a kick to her left leg. She avoided two kicks, blocked a right hook but got hit with a left punch to her gut. This process kept going on for about a minute. Snake would attack her with a series of strikes and she would defend against most of them, but at least one would make its mark.

"You can't just be on the defensive forever! You'll tire yourself out! Try to counter-attack!" He ordered her whilst he was attacking her. Soon enough she ducked under one of Snake's punches and hit him with an uppercut, making him stagger backwards. Snake looked at her and smiled.

"Good! Now keep it up!" He encouraged.

He went at her again with a series of attacks. She defended herself from each one and countered with a fierce kick. The attack stunned Snake briefly, and Tifa took that opening to tackle him to the ground. She then mounted herself on top of his chest to prevent him from getting up, while allowing her to strike his head. But Snake caught the first punch, and headbutted Tifa. Now Tifa was dazed, putting her hand up against her head, reeling from the pain. This gave Snake the opening to kick her off of him. Free from her restraints, Snake stood back up. Tifa also got back to her feet, and the two fighters stared each other down. Snake was waiting for Tifa to make a move, but Tifa was struggling to figure out what to do. Her mind actually began to get off track, and some of her thoughts were her concerns for Cloud. She saw Snake moving towards her, so she snapped out of it. Without thinking she threw a punch, and a second later she was on her back. Her reckless attack allowed Snake an easy CQC slam. She kicked her legs at him when he approached her, but he back-dashed to safety. She got back up and attacked again, only to be back on the ground a moment later.

"Something's on your mind! Thinking about anything else besides the battle can be a fatal mistake in combat! You need to clear your mind!" He ordered. But for the life of her she could not clear these thoughts out of her head. She kept getting up and attacking without focus, only to get knocked back to the ground. Snake noticed the pattern, and knew that it was time to stop. Tifa threw a punch half-heartedly at him. He caught her fist and wrapped his arms around her to restrain her.

"That's enough Tifa! Stop!"

Tifa hung her head, tears started to well up in her eyes. She put her fists down.

"I'm sorry…" She said with sorrow.

"Don't be. Not every problem can be solved through fighting. Sometimes you just gotta talk about it." He released her from his hold and sat her down next to him. "Something's on your mind, and it's not going to get any better if it stays there. You want to tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm just so worried about him Snake." She sighed and wiped her tears away.

"You mean Cloud? I figured as much. He's more than just a friend to you isn't he?"

Tifa nodded in response.

"What's been going on with him?"

"He hasn't been coming home. He didn't yesterday, or the day before that."

"You two live together?"

"Yes, along with Marlene and another boy named Denzel. We're supposed to be like…like a family."

"And when he does come home, I'm assuming he's not too pleasant to be around, right?"

"Right."

 _This is sounding a little bit like the situation Jack had with Rose. But in the end he fixed things up with her. If someone like Raiden can bounce back from something like this, then there's no reason that kid Cloud shouldn't be able to._

"Why don't you tell me a little bit about Cloud?" He requested.

* * *

Like Tifa promised herself, she would be truthful to Snake as he did with her. She told him about how they grew up together, how she regretted the way she treated him when they were children. Then about their adventure, and about the death of Aerith's death and how it impacted Cloud.

"So, a big case of self-imposed guilt." Snake deduced.

"I don't know what I am supposed to say to make him feel better."

"I don't expect you to. Because frankly there is no correct answer. But what I can tell you is that despite him not coming home, he really does care about you and the kids."

"Then why does he leave us?" Tifa begged for an answer.

"I know his type. He has a problem, one that he feels he needs to solve on his own. He thinks that by leaving, he won't be a burden on you or the kids, but he doesn't realize that he's causing you pain by leaving.

"I don't suppose you have any ideas on what to do about this." Tifa said sadly.

"I have a general idea. We just gotta let him know that you, Marlene, and Denzel just want him to come home. You just want to see him. He needs to remember he's got people that care for him, and he doesn't have to do things alone."

"I'd like to talk to him but I haven't been able to get in contact with him."

"Don't worry, I can take care of that. I've got contacts with some of the fighters. I tell them to give Cloud the message when they see him."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah sure. I don't have a good reason not to."

Tifa brought Snake into a hug, catching him by surprise.

"I had been boggling my mind as to why you just decided to help me, but I don't even care anymore. Just…thank you!" She smiled with a tear dropping from her eye. Snake patted her on the back.

"By the way, we're still not finished training. You ready for more sparring?" He asked. Tifa released him from the embrace and got herself prepared.

"Yeah! I'm ready for a few more rounds." She answered with a bright smile.

* * *

Cloud had just finished a match against Roy. He was victorious, but he still didn't feel like a winner. As he was walking through the halls of the arena, Captain Falcon stopped him.

"Hey Cloud."

"What is it?" Cloud asked, sounding irritated.

"Got a message here for you. It's an audio message so you should listen to it in private." Captain Falcon suggested and handed him the tape.

"Who is it from?"

"Someone that you should listen to. I'm not the only one that will tell you that." Falcon said and walked away.

Now Cloud was very curious about this message. Later that night he sat on his motorcycle and began to listen to it.

 _Hello Cloud. My name is Snake. Now that formalities are out of the way, I'll get down to business. The other day I paid a visit to the 7_ _th_ _Heaven bar. I met two people. A sweet little girl Marlene, and a nice young woman Tifa. They're good people…of course I don't need to tell you that. You already know, so you should know how they don't deserve the pain that you're causing them._

Cloud tensed up at that. Almost feeling angry.

 _I get it kid, you've suffered loss. But you need to stop acting like you're the only one. Aerith was friends with the other members of that group you had. They all had to deal with the loss, everyone copes with it in their own way. But the way you're dealing with it is unhealthy. I'm not going to sit here and try to convince you that it wasn't your fault, that's an issue only you can resolve. I just want to say you don't have to do it alone. Tifa, Marlene, Denzel, they miss you. They just want to see you. Just go home kid…that's all I'm asking._

The message ended and left Cloud conflicted. He couldn't believe he didn't take into account how Tifa and the kids would feel about him disappearing for days on end. Though he had no idea who "Snake" was that was irrelevant to him at the moment. He was going back to see her.

* * *

Cloud arrived in front of 7th Heaven about an hour later. He parked his bike and ran through the door.

"Tifa!" He called out. He looked to see Tifa was at the counter, cleaning things up. She turned and her eyes widened.

"Cloud…"

"Are you okay? I got a message. Who's Snake? What-" He stopped when Tifa squeezed him into a hug, burying her head into his chest.

"Just shut up Cloud." She whispered happily. She wasn't going to let go of him anytime soon.

"Tifa…I promise…I won't leave you again." He whispered and held her close. This time it wasn't an empty promise. This time he was going to keep his word to her.


	6. A Challenger Approaches!

**Happy New Year everyone.**

* * *

Dark Pit had heard talks of the former Smash fighter known as Solid Snake. He was intrigued with his legend. Anyone he heard talk about Snake did so with the upmost respect. Even the villains held begrudging respect for him, just for how great of a fighter he was. All of the newcomers have heard his name get mentioned at some point, and they all would like to meet him if they could get the chance, but Dark Pit had something else in mind.

"Hey Pit." The dark angel said to his heroic counterpart.

"Oh hey Dark Pit. What's up?"

"You know Solid Snake right?"

"Yeah I remember Snake. What about him?" Pit questioned.

"What is he?" Dark Pit asked, the meaning of his question not understood.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Like what kind of being is he? He must be a powerful creature to be as strong as he sounds."

"Uh, Snake's a human. I'm not sure what you're thinking he might be." Pit said.

"What! A human? So he must have some special powers then? Does he use magic?" Dark Pit continued to question.

"No! Dark Pit, Snake is probably the most normal human that's ever competed in Smash. He doesn't have magic or super powers, no power suit, no legendary weapons, or anything you usual see in Smash fights. He only had his fists, feet, and a couple of weaponry."

"Well then I don't get it! If that's true he should've been destroyed in every match he was in." Dark Pit scratched his head.

"That's the scary thing about him. What he had was all he needed. Snake is for some reason an ungodly powerful human being!" Pit explained.

"Just how powerful are we talking?"

"Very few of us actually defeated him one on one. I certainly haven't." The angel admitted.

That last sentence was all Dark Pit needed to hear. An opponent that his rival could never defeat. Now if he could defeat Snake, it would prove him to be the better fighter of the two.

"We'll see just how strong one human can be!" Dark Pit grinned and flew away to the mountain where Snake lived. He landed in front of Snake's cabin and drew out his weapon.

* * *

"Solid Snake!" Dark Pit called out. The cabin door opened and Snake walked out.

"What do you want kid?"

Dark Pit took a moment to gaze at his opponent. He seemed to be entertained by the sight.

"An old human like is supposed to be one of the greatest fighters in Smash? HA!"

"Oh! Someone mocking me because of my age. That's a first…" Snake said with clear sarcasm. "You have a reason for being here, or do you just have nothing better to do than make fun of old people?"

"Of course I have a reason for being here. I've come to challenge you to a duel! A new smasher against a legendary veteran."

"Is that right? Well I'm not one to turn down a challenge…" Snake then got into his fighting stance. "Ready when you are."

Two minutes. In two minutes Dark Pit found himself beaten down and defeated.

"How! How could I lose to…to a human!" He muttered in disbelief.

"I didn't know angels were so racist. Is losing to a human really that bad?" Snake laughed. Dark Pit growled angrily in response. Snake's small smile faded away and he went back to his serious self. "Alright get up…"

Dark Pit was surprised to find Snake helping him back up to his feet.

"You're pretty strong kid, and you're a damn good fighter. But your arrogance will keep you from getting better. You overestimated your own abilities while underestimating mine. You wrote me off for an easy win because I'm a human. If you want to improve then you need to learn the extent of your abilities, while respecting the abilities of others. And when I say respect, I don't mean be kind and friendly, I can tell that's not your style. What I mean is assume every opponent is dangerous. Don't try to make judgements based on physical attributes. Got it kid?"

Oddly, Dark Pit did not ignore Snake or roll his eyes, or show any sign of not caring. Because he actually did want to listen to his advice. He did care.

"Yeah…got it." He answered slowly. "I'm…I'm sorry about…"

"Don't worry about it. Take it easy kid." Snake cut him off and walked back into his cabin. Dark Pit then took into account that not only did he listen to the man's advice, but he also apologized, something he does rarely. He wasn't sure what it was. Just something about this defeat was humbling. He had now realized why all the others respect him the way they do, and now Dark Pit respected Snake too. Though one of these days he was going to come back for a rematch. Until then, he had a lot of training to do.

* * *

Returning to the stadium, Dark Pit met up with Pit again.

"You were right. Snake is no joke. He's as good as they say." He admitted.

"Wow! You're admitting that you were wrong? How hard did he hit you?" Pit laughed.

"Hey don't push it Pit!"

"Right, sorry. But seriously, you just lost a fight but you don't seem to be that pissed about it. That's not usually how this goes. If it was anyone else you'd be throwing a fit. What did Snake do to make this defeat so different?" Pit asked with sincere curiosity.

"He…showed me respect, even when he had every reason not to. I showed up to his home, called him out, and insulted him. And yet when he beat me he didn't rub it in. In fact, he helped me back to my feet and gave me advice on how to improve my skills." Dark Pit explained.

"That's one of the reasons why we respect him so much. He was never arrogant about his abilities, and he was always willing to help others improve. Who knows? Maybe he wants you to get better so that someday you can go back up there and beat him." The angel thought.

"You know Pit? Once again I think you might be right." Dark Pit smiled.


	7. Alex: Arrival

A cab took a stop in downtown Smashville. The passenger door opened and out came a large, built and muscular man. He had blonde hair and wore a bomber jacket with jeans, along with a red bandana around his head. His name was Alex, the New York wrestler from the Street Fighter Universe. He grabbed his luggage out of the cab and payed his fare.

"Thanks for the ride." He said to the driver.

"No problem. Hope you have a good time here in Smashville!" The driver replied and drove off. Alex took a look at his surroundings, seeing a lot of strange looking creatures were the citizens of this place.

 _Man! This is a lot different than New York!_

Alex was clearly new to this place. He also still hadn't quite been able to wrap his head around the concept of it. Several months ago, he and everyone else he knew didn't know a thing about Smashville or about the Smash Brothers tournament that's held there. But then Ryu gets invited into the tournament and suddenly a whole new universe is opened for them to go to. He usually decided to just not think about it too much and he was better off doing so. He was just a fighter. Knowing the science of travelling across universes wouldn't really benefit him anyway. He was here for some training. The 5th World Warrior tournament was coming up soon, and he had received an invitation for it. He had already learned everything he could from Tom, his friend and practical foster father as the man raised him after Alex's parents died. So he wanted to meet some new faces, learn some new styles, new moves. Ryu was going to be at the World Warrior tournament, and Alex wanted to be ready for when they finally have their rematch.

"That man has my purse!" Alex heard a woman cry out from ahead. Alex then saw a weird looking creature with rabbit ears and a handkerchief around his mouth running through the crowd of people ahead of him, and deduced that he was the thief. When Alex got close enough, he clotheslined the thief, putting him on his back and knocking him out. Alex then picked up a purse that he had in his hand. The owner and said purse, a female Toad came forward, looking exhausted from the running. Alex knelt down to her and calmed her down.

"Don't worry miss, I got him! Here's your purse back." He handed it to her and smiled.

"Oh thank you young man! Thank you!" She dug into her purse, retrieved five coins and handed them to Alex. "Please take this as my thanks."

"That's very kind of you, but that's not necessary. I'm just glad I could help."

"I'm sorry young man but there's no debate about this. You did a good deed for me and you deserve a reward." The woman insisted. Alex conceded and accepted the coins.

"Alright. Thank you miss." He took a look at the coins, not familiar with the currency.

 _How much are these worth anyway?_

Then two police officer's arrived on the scene.

"Well I'll be damned son! You just stopped Nabbit!" One officer said.

"Nabbit? Is that who this guy is?"

"Yes sir! He's one of Smashville's most wanted thieves. We've been trying to get this guy for months, but I don't know if you saw, but he's pretty damn fast."

"Oh I noticed. Go ahead and put him in the slammer officers." Alex smiled.

"Will do! Thanks a lot kid!" The police waved to Alex as he walked off.

Alex turned a corner and accidently bumped into an old man, causing the man to drop some of his groceries. Alex immediately dropped his luggage to help the man retrieve his fallen items.

"Aw shit! I'm so sorry!" He apologized.

"It's all right. None of the items or fragile or anything, so everything should be fine." The man with a gruff voice responded. Alex picked up what the man had dropped and returned it to him. "Thanks kid." The two then got a better look at each other and were surprised at the others appearance. It seemed as though the two had the same taste when it came to headgear. The man was wearing a bandana.

"Nice bandana." Alex complimented the stranger.

"Likewise." The man replied. His eyes wandered and looked at Alex's luggage. "What's your name kid?"

"My name is Alex."

"Alex? Alright Alex, my name is Snake." Snake introduced himself.

"Good to meet you sir." Alex smiled.

"Are you new around here Alex?" He asked. Snake didn't know why but he couldn't help but be intrigued by the young wrestler.

"Yeah I just got here, looking for a place to move."

"And that accent. Are you from New York?"

Alex was pleasantly surprised by the question. "Yeah that's right? Are you from the U.S too?"

"I am."

"That's great! I didn't think I'd meet anyone here that knows about my universe aside from Ryu."

Now Snake knew what it was about Alex that got his interest. He was similar to how Snake was when he first arrived in this universe. Someone from a universe where humans are the rulers of the planet, where countries like the United States and Japan exists, suddenly thrust into this new world of Smash. Just surrounded by unfamiliar creatures and concepts. It was confusing for Snake, so he was sure it would be confusing for Alex. He decided to help him out.

"You want me to show you around the place? I can tell you're confused about a lot of what you've seen here." He offered.

"Yes! Thank you!" Alex jumped at the offer.

* * *

So Snake had Alex follow him around to the many areas of Smashville, answering any and all questions that he had along the way. And he sure did have many. What's Smash Brothers all about, what are the caliber of the fighters there? Then other things like the names of creatures Alex was looking at and had never seen before.

"Oh yeah, what kind of currency is this and how much is it worth?" Alex asked and showed Snake the coins he had received earlier.

"Those are Mushroom Kingdom coins. And they're worth the amount you have." Snake simply answered.

"So five coins are worth…five coins?"

"Pretty much. I don't really understand the currency either. I mean I understand Rupees. The color of the rupee determines the value. That being said, I do know that five coins is a decent amount of money. Where'd you get them anyway?"

"A lady Toad gave them to me for knocking out a thief that was running away with her purse."

"Really? Well good work Alex."

"Thanks. So what currency do they use around here? Do I trade my coins and dollars in somewhere for the official currency?" Alex questioned.

"No. People take any type of currency. And there are a lot of them since this is a city with people from different universes living here. So whether it's Coins, Rupees, gold, bells, zinny or gil, you hold onto it. Maybe someday Master Hand will get a more sensible economy started." Snake thought.

"I sure hope so."

"You hungry Alex?" Snake asked.

"A little bit. I could go for something to eat." He said.

"Alright. I know a place we can go for a bite. It may be a bar but they serve some pretty good food."

* * *

"Welcome to the 7th Heaven, kid." Snake said as they entered the bar.

"Well if it isn't my favorite customer!" Tifa walked over to Snake with a smile and gave him a quick hug.

"How are you Tifa?"

"A lot better, thanks to you." She answered. Then her eyes shifted to Alex. "So who is this mighty man that you brought with you?" She teased.

"Hey, I'm Alex." The wrestler introduced himself and shook Tifa's hand.

"He's new to town, just got here. So I thought I might as well give him the tour." Snake explained.

"Well then you're in good hands Alex! Now you two go ahead and take a seat."

The two men found an empty table nearby and sat across from each other. Then the two began to converse.

"So you said you've come here looking for a place to live?" Snake asked.

"Yep."

"What for? Tired of living in the Big Apple?"

"No of course not. I've got family there. But I recently got invited to my universe's upcoming World Warrior tournament and I've come here to train. I felt if Ryu decided to come here than this must be a good place to hone my skills." Alex replied.

"So you're a fighter huh? I figured as much."

"What about you? When were you planning on telling me that you're a fighter?" Alex asked, causing Snake to show a little bit of surprise.

"How'd do guess?"

"I know a fighter when I see one."

"Is that right." Snake chuckled. "Well you're half-right. I used to be a fighter. Now I'm retired."

"Did you use to be in Smash?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. I was a part of the third tournament."

"How was it?"

"Enjoyable for the most part. It was nice to finally be able to fight for sport instead of fighting to the death as I was used to."

"So how are you guys able to use swords, guns and explosives during a fight without killing each other?"

"They've got some crazy technology. I couldn't explain it to you, but basically, when a fighter is in one of the arenas, something makes them immortal. During a fight, our skin couldn't be cut, and our bones couldn't break. Any damage that we take is transferred through knockback force. Unfortunately during the fights, the pain receptors in our bodies still work…"

"So when you do get hit by a sword…"

"It hurts like hell."

"Damn!" Alex cringed at the thought. Snake then decided to move onto a different subject.

"You've mentioned Ryu a few times. How do you know him?"

"He kicked my ass after the last World Warrior tournament I entered. I've been wanting a rematch since then, and this next World Warrior tournament is my shot."

"Oh so you've entered one of those World Warrior tournaments before?"

"It was my first fighting tournament I've entered."

"And how'd you do?"

"I won. And it's funny now that I think about it. I remember entering the tournament and winning wasn't what was on my mind. I entered for something else."

"Care to tell me this story?" Snake asked.

"It's a long one." Alex warned.

"I've got time."

"If you say so. We'd have to start from the very beginning. See my parents died when I was a kid, so my father's friend Tom took care of me ever since. Tom's become like a father to me, and his daughter Patricia, is like a little sister to me. Tom's a military veteran and a martial artist, and while I was growing up I'd go to his gym that he owned and he would train me. I learned everything I know about fighting from him. Primarily I use wrestling as my fighting style."

"Sounds like Tom's a pretty good teacher." Snake commented.

"Tom's a great everything to me. A teacher, father-figure. He's done so much for me. So I guess you can imagine how I felt whenever I had to see him in a hospital bed."

"What happened?"

"The tournament-sponsor, Gill, happened. One day Tom ended up getting in a fight with Gill, and Gill beat him within an inch of his life. Pat and I rushed over to the hospital as soon as we heard. Tom couldn't walk with the injuries. He was confined to a bed. I was furious when he told me who did it. Tom insisted that I not go after Gill. He said that Gill won fair and square, but I wasn't having any of it. But Tom didn't try to stop me. He told me that I was a man now, so it was time for me to make my own decisions. And when I saw the invitation for Gill's World-Warrior tournament, I jumped at the opportunity to enter."

"So who's this Gill character? What's he like?"

"Gill is a freak with a god-complex. He loved calling himself the "Supreme Being". His body was colored blue on one half, and red on the other, and wore a loin cloth during battle. I guess he was really going for that Greek god look. Anyway, Gill was no regular guy. Some people don't even think the guy is human. He had super-natural abilities! He could shoot fire and ice, he could grow wings, and he would get right back up after you hit him with an attack that should've knocked him out. It's almost like he could resurrect. It's crazy when I think about it now, but at that time, I didn't give a shit if he was a god or not. I was still going to fight him. So after winning every match I had I was face to face with Gill. Of course you already know that I won, but it wasn't easy at all. But no matter what, I refused to stay down. No matter how hard he hit me, no matter how many times he would "resurrect", I would get up and keep fighting. And finally, it paid off. I beat Gill to the point where he couldn't continue fighting."

"New York wrestler defeats the Supreme Being. Sounds like a good headline." Snake joked, but nonetheless sounded impressed by what Alex achieved.

"You don't think I'm bullshitting you right? About the whole super-natural thing?" Alex asked worried that he looked like an arrogant fool.

"No, I believe you. Like with fighters, I can spot a liar when I see one and you're no liar. Anyway, continue."

"Right. So I had him there, on his hands and knees in front of me. He was exhausted and powerless. I was in charge of what would happen to him next. I was staring into the eyes of the man who put my best-friend in a hospital, the man who made poor Pat wonder if her dad was going to make it, or even be the same again. I remembered entering the tournament with every intent to kill this man…"

Alex paused momentarily, seemingly taking in memories of that moment. The expression on Snake's face was serious as he awaited what was next.

"But I didn't…" Alex said, a smile seemed to grow on Snake's face when he said that. "Despite all the pain and sorrow he caused my family, and probably several others, I wouldn't bring myself to kill him. I just beat him, and went back home."

"You did the right thing kid." Snake said.

"You think so? You don't think it was weak that I spared that bastard?"

"Of course not! Alex, you refused to kill a man in cold blood. That's not weakness, that's exercising restraint, allowing mercy. That's a strength in of itself. There was nothing for you to gain by killing Gill, but it probably didn't seem that way at that moment."

"I guess you're right. So anyway I got back home and found Tom had fully recovered, and Pat gave me a big hug when I got out of the cab. At that moment, my anger just disappeared. I was able to think about my journey and remember all of the very nice people that I met along the way. Ibuki, a Japanese girl trying to balance her life between being a ninja and an ordinary student. Dudley, a British boxer and probably the most polite bastard I've ever met. After I beat him in our tournament match, the guy got back up with a smile on his face and asked if I'd like to join him for a pint at a pub. There were many others, and it inspired me to travel the world and hone my skills, and meet new fighters. That's when I met Ryu."

"Tell me a little more about that. Cause it seems like you must've not fought Ryu during the tournament."

"Yeah Ryu got eliminated by someone during the tournament. I don't know who it was though. But about a year after the tournament I finally crossed paths with him. He challenged me to a match, and he completely destroyed me! I couldn't counter any of his attacks! I had never seen anything like it, it was amazing!" Alex explained with excitement.

"So you're not mad about losing to him?"

"Of course not!"

"So this rematch isn't a grudge match or anything, you just really want to fight Ryu again?"

"Of course. When he beat me he encouraged me to keep training. I want to see how far I've come."

Snake was somewhat surprised by the type of reasoning Alex gave, but he liked it. It wasn't about revenge, it was about improvement, about sportsmanship.

"I still wonder to this day y'know? How was I able to beat a man with supernatural powers, but get curb-stompped by some regular guy like Ryu?" Alex asked himself.

"Well I know the answer. It was willpower." Snake said. "When you were going up against Gill you had the will to fight him with everything you had. You refused to lose. Your pure determination was what helped you to do something that you would normally believe to be impossible. The human mind is much stronger than most people believe Alex."

Alex contemplated Snake's words for a moment and nodded. "Yeah. I think I get what you mean. I guess I just didn't have that intensity when I went up against Ryu."

"Right. What you need to do is train yourself to have that willpower on your own instead of gaining it from an extreme event, like what happened to Tom."

Alex smirked at Snake. "That sounds like advice that a trainer would give to their student. You thinking about being my trainer?"

"What?! Don't be ridiculous. It's just a friendly a bit of advice." Snake laughed it off.

"Aw come on Snake!" Tifa jumped into the conversation. "You training him would be great for both of you. You can pass those skills of yours on to a new generation."

"I don't know…"

"Don't worry Snake, I won't be any trouble. If you don't like it, we can stop at any time." Alex attempted to persuade him.

Snake rubbed his chin, and took a look at Alex's luggage. "Where are you moving kid?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a place for a few days. Hotels seem to be full but I'll be fine." Alex assured.

Snake sighed heavily. He felt like he was being guilt tripped, but he knew Alex was not attempting to do that. "Alright kid, I've got a small spot in my place you could use until you get a place to live."

Alex and Tifa's face light up with joy.

"And…I will train you. Does that sound good?"

Alex jumped out of his chair and shook Snake's hand firmly. "That sounds damn good!"


	8. The New Witch in Town

"So this is where you live?" Alex asked as he looked at Snake's cabin.

"That's right. You got a problem with it, city boy?" Snake joked.

"No, no problems. I think it's unique is all."

"How so?"

"It's a cabin on a mountain. What's not unique about that?"

"Fair enough. Come inside, I'll show you your room."

Entering the cabin, Alex took a look around the humble abode. He was quite impressed with how the place was decorated.

"This is a nice place. I didn't take you for an interior decorator."

"Oh me? No, no! Trust me, I don't know anything about decorating. This was all done with the help of a lady friend of mine. She's the one who knows all about interior design." Snake explained. "Speaking of which, she's coming to visit me tonight. I think you should meet her. I know she'll love to meet you. She's a real people person."

"Oh really? Who is she?"

"Her name's Peach. She's a smash fighter. Very nice lady, seems to always have a smile on her face. She can also make the best damn tea you'll ever drink. So what do you say? Care to stick around to meet her?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." Alex agreed.

* * *

There were two knocks on Snake's door. He knew who it was of course. He answered the door and-

"Hello!" Peach joyfully greeted and hugged Snake, putting a smile on Snake's face.

"Hey. How's your week been?" He asked.

"It's been great! Things have gotten a lot better since we last spoke."

"Good to know."

"What about you? I heard you've been quite a helpful hand this past week."

"Word gets around huh? Yeah this week has been eventful to say the least. Anyway, come in! There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Oh?" Peach's curiosity rose as she followed Snake inside. In the living room, she saw said person of interest. "Well who is this handsome young man?" She giggled.

The young wrestler's blushed a little bit at the compliment. "My name is Alex. It's a pleasure to meet you Princess!" Alex then froze, unsure of what to do next. "Forgive me for asking but I've never met anyone of royalty before. Should I bow or something?"

Peach and Snake couldn't help but laugh a little, amused by Alex's naivety.

"No need for that. You can just call me Peach, Alex."

"Oh…ok. That makes things a lot easier."

"Alex is going to be staying with me for a little bit. He's getting ready for a fighting tournament held in his universe, and I said I would help train him." Snake explained to Peach.

"Well that sounds wonderful! I always thought you'd be a great teacher Snake."

"I'll try my best. I think it's time I passed something on to a new generation. That is of course if Alex is willing to learn. You think you can handle my training kid?" He asked.

"I can handle it!" Alex nodded, brimming with confidence.

"Heh, I know you can, pal." Snake chuckled. "So Peach. I was telling Alex all about your world famous tea. Would you mind making us a cup?"

"Of course not. I'll get on it right away!" The princess cheered.

* * *

"Holy crap! That tea is so damn good!" Alex shouted in amazement after taking a sip.

"I told you so." Snake chuckled and took another sip from his cup.

"I'm glad you like my tea." Peach smiled.

Alex gulped down his tea quickly, enamored with its wonderful taste.

"So other than the Smash Brothers tournament, are there any other fighting tournaments in the area?" He asked.

"That's a good question. I can't say I know anything about that though." Snake said.

"Actually there are a lot of good fighters that didn't make it in Smash. They usually hold unofficial tournaments around here. You might have luck asking about that." Peach answered.

"Interesting." Alex rubbed his chin, interested at the thought.

A couple hours passed by and it was time for Peach to go. Snake went ahead and saw her out.

"Goodbye Snake. It's was good to see you, and to meet Alex." She said and hugged Snake.

"Well I'm glad you came. Have a good night." He waved goodbye and closed the door. He went over to Alex, who was getting settled in the guest room. "So what'd you think? You like her?"

"Hell yeah I like her! That lady's a sweetheart! I don't really see that amount of kindness in people now-a-days." Alex responded.

"I agree."

"So when do we start training?"

"You're really eager to get started I see. I like that. We'll begin tomorrow morning. Start with some basic exercises, and we'll work our way up from there." Snake planned.

"Sounds good!" he gave Snake a thumbs up.

"All right. I'm gonna get some sleep. Good night kid."

"Uh…hey, Snake?" Alex stopped him as he was about to walk off.

"What is it?"

"I just want to thank you again for…all of this. You're helping me get familiar with this place, giving me training, giving me a roof over my head. You didn't have to do this, but you did it anyway. I really appreciate it man." Alex showed his sincere gratitude. "I do want to train, but I don't want to take up all your time. If you have plans to meet with friends, don't let me get in the way of them. Okay?"

"Of course, pal. Good night."

* * *

The next morning, Snake brought Alex over to his training grounds. Like Tifa, Alex was shocked at the sight of a sentient sandbag, so Snake went through the routine of calming him down and assuring him he wouldn't hurt the bag.

"Alright Alex! Go ahead and warm up on the bag whenever you're ready."

Alex began striking the sandbag. Snake was impressed by what he saw. Due to Alex's build and size, he correctly assumed that the man was a powerhouse. However Alex was now showing there was more to him than that, displaying an incredible amount of speed and agility for a man of his size. He could jump and perform a divebomb, hurling himself towards an opponent from the air. He showed his grappling skills, performing body slams, German suplexes, and jumping powerbombs on the sandbag.

Alex also used his head…literally. He would utilize headbutts as part of his arsenal, and even had a special move that was a combination of headbutts. He called it the "Stun Gun Headbutt".

"All right! That's 30 minutes. Go ahead and take a break." Snake stopped Alex.

"Well done Mr. Alex!" Sandbag praised

"Thanks Sandbag."

Snake tossed Alex a bottle of water. He caught it and began drinking.

"What'd you think?" Alex asked Snake.

"You're a jack-of-all-trades kid. A good combination of speed and strength. A good striker, a great grappler. I'm impressed Alex."

"Thanks man."

"Next up, I want to get a look at your defense. Defense is equally, if not more important than your offense." Snake said. He then put on some training gloves. "I'm going to attack you with these. I don't want you focusing on attacking me, all I want you to do is defend against my attacks. Dodge them, block them, whatever works for you. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" Alex replied.

The two stood across from each other, getting in their fighting stance.

"Begin!"

Snake threw two jabs at Alex, both were easily blocked. Then Snake struck with some body blows that Alex also managed to defend against. Then Snake surprised Alex with a crouching low kick, managing to make its mark on Alex's leg. He began guarding low, anticipating more low attacks. Instead Snake broke through his guard with an overhead strike.

"Any good fighter is going to mix their attacks up to break your guard. You have to try to anticipate your opponent's moves, know when to block high and when to block low." Snake instructed. "Let's try that again."

In the second attempt, Alex proved to be more successful, blocking a few more strikes before getting hit. The third time proved to be the charm, with Alex blocking each and every attack Snake threw at him.

"All right. Good work Alex. I think we'll take a break for right now if that's okay with you."

"Yeah sure thing Snake."

"Okay. Well I'm going to take a trip to the city and get something to eat. You want anything for me to bring back?" He asked.

"Nah I'm good man. Thanks for asking though. Have a good trip!" Alex said.

* * *

While taking a walk through downtown Smashville, Snake noticed a woman struggling to carry a rather large amount of grocery bags. As she tried to secure her grasp on the bags, a few of them fell to the ground.

"Dammit!" She cursed, her voice containing a British accent. Snake chuckled quietly before walking over to the woman.

"Excuse me miss? It looks like you could use some help with those bags." He pointed out and picked up the fallen bags. The woman looked at him rather skeptically.

"Well that's very kind of you…what's the catch?" She asked.

"Catch?"

"Yes the catch. What you want in return for your services?" She asked coldly. Although she came off as rude, Snake just smirked at the question.

"Well believe it or not lady, I don't need a reason or reward to help someone." He responded, with the woman now looking rather surprised. "But if you really don't want my help than I'll just let you handle these bags yourself."

"No no! Wait!" She stopped him before he dropped the bags. She let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry…for coming off as a major bitch. I'm not used to anyone being so…selfless." She apologized.

"It's all right miss. No harm done. So where are we taking these?" Snake asked.

"We're taking them to my car. It's not that far, so just follow me." She instructed.

"You got it."

With the grocery bags in his grasp, he followed the woman to her car.

"By the way, I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves. What's your name, handsome?" She teased.

"Name's Solid Snake, but you can just refer to me as Snake like everyone else."

"Snake? That can't be your real name." She laughed.

"Yeah, it's just a codename. But that's how people have referred to me for most of my life so it just stuck. Besides, a name is really just a decoration."

"I see. Well my name is Bayonetta."

"Pretty unique name, but I've got a feeling that it's not your real name."

"That's right. How did you guess?"

"Just call it intuition." He smirked. "I've heard you mentioned before. You're one of the newest additions to Smash Brothers right?"

"Right you are. I believe I've heard your name mentioned a few times before. I'm trying to remember…oh! You're that retired fighter that gave the dark angel boy a nice beating." She laughed.

"Yeah that would be me."

"I've heard very good things about you. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise miss." Snake responded as they shook hands.

After a few minutes, they finished loading all the bags into Bayonetta's car. She let out a sigh of relief.

"All done. Again, thank you for the help."

"Don't mention it. It was good to meet you." Snake said before he turned to leave. Bayonetta rushed to the front of him and stopped him.

"Wait a minute! Where are you going?"

"Well, I'm going home I guess." Snake answered, confused as to why she stopped him.

"Home? Oh you're not going home yet." She laughed, further confusing Snake. "See you did me a favor, so I want to pay you for your troubles."

"That's not necessary. I was just glad to help."

"Oh stop being so modest! I'd just like to treat you to some dinner." She insisted.

Snake was quiet for a moment as he thought of the offer. He could tell she wasn't going to let him off easy, and he didn't think it would hurt to just go for something to eat.

"All right then. What'd you have in mind?"

* * *

Bayonetta took Snake to a little café downtown. It was a small, neat little place, and wasn't very crowded. It was a nice place to get a bite to eat.

"I found this place when I arrived, and it's become my favorite little spot to relax." She explained.

"I've been here a few times. I was always satisfied with the service." Snake remembered.

"Let's take a seat."

"So what's your story, Bayo?"

"I'm what you humans call a witch, an Umbra Witch to be precise."

"I see."

"You don't think I'm lying do you?"

"No of course not. Why do you ask?"

"Huh? Sorry, it's usually hard to convince humans of such things that they consider to be myths."

"I get you. Trust me, after being with Smash Brothers for years, you tend to be more open minded about such things. Pokemon, a mercenary crew of space animals, a woman raised by aliens who gained the ability to roll into a ball. After seeing all that, I can believe in something like a witch." Snake chuckled. "So tell me, what do you Umbra witches do?"

"I guess you could call us angel hunters."

"Are angels evil where you come from?"

"You can say that."

"Interesting. Well you don't have to worry about the two angels on the roster. Pit's a good kid, very friendly to most people around him. As for his dark counter-part, I haven't really met him formally but from when I fought him I gathered this much. He may be pretty brash and arrogant, but he's not evil."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Bayo laughed. "So what about you handsome? What do you do now that you're retired from the fighting scene?"

"I just live in a log cabin up in the mountains. Get some peace and quiet, then come down to the city every now and then. It's not very eventful, but it's just how I like it." Snake answered. "By the way, how do you feel now that you're in Smash Brothers?"

"Oh! Well it's fun and all but…"

"But what?"

Bayonetta sighed.

"But I feel like a lot of the others don't think I belong there." She admitted. "While there are quite a few of the fighters that have welcomed me warmly, I still get some looks of disdain from the others."

"I know the feeling. We're not exactly family friendly fighters that Smash is well known for having. We stick out when standing near the other fighters."

"So I take it you had the same problem when you joined up?"

"Yep. Pretty similar to your situation. There were a select few that treated me kindly, were friendly to me. The others would just give me looks and not speak to me. I was treated like an outcast. But I never held any ill-will towards those people. It's understandable that some people would be cautious about the new guy. But don't worry, it doesn't stay that way forever. I eventually earned their respect, and made friends with many of them."

"How so?" The Umbra Witch questioned.

"Just think of it this way. Most of them don't actually hate you…as long as you don't do anything to incite their anger that is. They're just veteran fighters, and they're trying to size you up, intimidate you. I can tell that you're a tough lady, so you won't break. You just need to do what you do best. Fight! You go out and show that you're a part of Smash for a reason, show them what you're capable of. They'll come to respect your ability as a fighter, and respect you as a person. A lot of the guys and girls there are very friendly and would be glad to be your friend. Though there are a few, such as Ganondorf and Bowser that are not one for making friends, but at the very least you can earn their respect, even if it is begrudgingly." Snake explained to her.

"I see." She smiled. "I'll be sure to do that. You're quite the wise man aren't you?"

* * *

Finishing their meals, they left the café and briefly spoke outside.

"Looks like it's getting late." Snake noted.

"It appears so. I guess it's time for us to part ways."

"Seems that way. Well I enjoyed it Bayonetta."

"It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance Snake."

"Likewise. Now go out there and kick some ass." He told her. She laughed and winked at him.

"Catch you later handsome."


	9. The First Match

Snake and Alex were inside the locker room of the WVBA Arena. While a duplicate version was created as a Smash stage, the real one was now home to Smashville's Underground Fighting League. This is where non-Smash fighters would go to show their skill. Assist trophies, side characters, everyone was viable to compete. And tonight, Alex was competing. This would be his first real fight ever since he started training under Snake. Snake watched as Alex was warming up for the fight, doing multiple squats. There was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Snake told Alex to let him continue with his exercise. He opened up the door to see one of the staff members.

"Hey, just letting you know your guy is up in 10 minutes."

"Alright, thanks." Snake replied and shut the door. "It's almost time Alex."

"Gotcha." Alex said as he finished his exercises. He grabbed a bottle of water and began drinking. "Hey so…earlier I saw some guys in the ring fighting with weapons. Are you sure that people don't die in these matches?"

"Don't worry. While their tech isn't as advanced as the ones in Smash, they do have the device that prevents people from being killed. This league does Stamina matches, so any hits taken are converted into stamina damage. No matter the weapon." Snake assured.

"Okay. Good to know."

"You ready to get out there?"

"Yeah! Let's rumble!"

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the next battle is about to begin! And it sure looks like a good one!" The ring announcer said to the audience. He pointed to the right side of the ring and said…

"In this corner, we have the lone-wolf lancer of the Wonderful 101. Always ready to go at his opponents with his Valiantium Blade…WONDER BLUE!"

Wonder Blue smirked and raised his sword in the air as he was met with applause. The ring announcer then turned to the other side of the ring.

"And in this corner, a newcomer to the underground league, but no newcomer when it comes to fighting. A young wrestler hailing from the Street Fighter universe, ready to show the world what he's got. We introduce to you…ALEX! And accompanying him is his trainer, a man we all know. A former Smash fighter, the legendary SOLID SNAKE!"

The crowd cheered for the two of them as they waved to the audience.

"Gentlemen please make your way to the middle of the ring for our referee to explain the rules."

The two fighters did so, and they stood across from each other, the referee in the middle. They engaged in a stare-down as the referee explained the rules.

"Alright guys, you heard the rules in the locker rooms but I'll go over them once again. This is a standard stamina match. Drain your opponent's stamina by landing successful attacks. Drop your opponent's stamina to zero, and they will collapse and you win. You both start with 1000 stamina points. That's it, good luck to both of you."

In a show of sportsmanship, Alex extended his hand to Wonder Blue for a quick handshake before the match. But Wonder Blue just scoffed and walked back to his corner, refusing to shake hands. Alex was angered by this act of arrogance and went back to his corner.

"Did you see that Snake? I was just trying to show him some respect! That cocky son of a bitch!"

"I know, but don't worry about it kid. He's trying to get in your head. Keep your mind clear, and focus on the fight. If he's going to act like that, then you'll just have to beat some respect into him. Got it?" Snake asked.

Alex smirked at his mentor's advice. "Yeah! Got it!"

"Alright! Good luck Alex!"

Alex readied himself for battle as he glared at his opponent across the ring. Wonder Blue was looking quite smug, as is usual for him.

"Fighters ready? Begin!" The ring announcer shouted.

The two combatants made their way towards each other. Right from the get-go Wonder Blue started going on the offensive. Alex put up his guard as Wonder Blue poked him with his sword. Once he stopped Alex went for a strong attack, but Wonder Blue landed a counter hit before Alex landed his attack. Though he took damage, Alex did not flinch from the attack and he landed his Big Boot kick right to Wonder Blue's head. Blue was reeling back from the force of the attack. Alex saw this as an opening and quickly dashed towards his opponent before he could recover and grabbed him, throwing him to the ground with a body slam. With Blue flat on his back, Alex attempted to capitalize on this and prepared to hit Blue with his leaping stomp. He jumped up, but Blue rolled away just before he got crushed under Alex's feet.

Back on his feet, Wonder Blue attacked Alex with two sword slashes across the chest. He ended the combo with an upward slash that acted as an uppercut. Alex staggered from the attack but refused to fall off his feet. He crouched as he recovered from the attack. But it seemed there was no time for rest, as Blue was charging at him with his sword at the ready. Alex quickly reacted with a powerful leg sweep, putting Blue on the ground. Blue quickly got back up but was immediately hit with one of Alex's special moves, the Slash Elbow, right across his face. The attack sent Blue back, creating distance between the two fighters. Alex took advantage of the optimal distance and jumped at Blue and got him in a jumping DDT, smashing Blue's head to the ground. Alex waited for Blue to get back up so he could follow up his attack. Once he was up, Alex charged towards him. Blue reacted quickly and bashed Alex's face with the hilt of his sword. Alex put his hands on his face from the pain, but he was given an even greater pain when Blue diagonally slashed Alex across the chest. Blue started racking up damage by repeatedly jabbing Alex with the tip of his blade. He ending the combo with a strong vertical slice that knocked Alex down.

"Dammit!" Alex cursed. He was angry with himself for getting hit by such a powerful combo.

"Hey kid! Stay focused! You're still in this fight!" Snake called out to him from the outside corner of the ring.

 _Yeah…yeah! I'm still in this. I'm not giving up._

Alex quickly got back up, just in time to notice Wonder Blue descending towards him in the air. Alex performed his Air Knee Smash, striking his knee into Blue's chest. Both of the fighters fell to earth, with Alex on top, his knee still on Blue's chest when they landed. Alex got off of his opponent, getting ready for his next move. Blue returned to his feet and swiped at Alex. Alex parried/perfect shielded the attack, taking no damage and immediately followed up with a strong headbutt. While Blue was stunned, Alex attacked with a fierce Flash Chop across Blue's chest. The sheer force of the hit spun Blue around to have his back facing Alex. Alex wrapped his arms around Blue's abdomen and performed a devastating German suplex, showing his wrestling ability. Even after that powerful attack, Alex kept the pressure going. Just a Blue got to his knees, Alex smashed his face with a powerful dropkick. Blue began to panic as the momentum was in Alex's favor. His normally masterful swordsmanship became sloppy, just flailing his sword at Alex hoping that it would hit.

Alex continued to easily avoid Blue's attacks and land counter hits when there was an opening. Alex was surprised at Wonder Blue's sudden decline in skill, but it was making things a lot easier for him.

" _If he's not going to use that sword properly, then I guess he doesn't need it."_ Alex thought. Using his Big Boot, he kicked Wonder Blue's sword right out of his hands. Blue turned and watched as his blade fell out of the ring. Then he turned back to find Alex dangerously close to him.

"You can't escape!" Alex said his famous line as he grabbed Wonder Blue. He performed two German Suplexes in a row, and then ended it with a jumping powerslam he called the…

"HYPER BOMB!" He shouted as he slammed Blue to the mat with thunderous impact. The crowd went wild after seeing the amazing combo. Then everyone noticed that Blue was unable to get up, and not due to a lack of trying. A field of energy was preventing him from moving, which meant…

"That's a match!" The ring announcer said. "The winner of this match is…ALEX!"

The crowd cheered for Alex. He raised his arm triumphantly as he looked to the crowd. Snake entered the ring and gave him a pat on the back.

"Great job out there Alex! You really showed them what you can do."

"Thanks Snake!" Alex smiled. He then looked down to his opponent, Wonder Blue, still crumpled on the ground. He walked over to him and helped him back to his feet. Wonder Blue looked confused as to what was going on. Was Alex going to attack him? Taunt him?

No. Alex just extended his hand once again, a stern expression on his face. He said nothing, just waiting for Blue's response. He looked around and noticed that the arena was absolutely quite. The crowd was also waiting intently on his response. Finally, Blue conceded and shook Alex's hand.

"Good fight pal. You really are no joke." Blue complimented, something he doesn't do often.

Alex nodded and smiled at Blue, and then he and Snake departed from the arena.

* * *

Alex got in the passenger seat of Snake's truck. Snake didn't use the vehicle often, only using it when he had to get somewhere on schedule. It was quiet for a bit, but Snake broke the silence.

"Do you know what he did wrong?" He asked.

"Huh? Who? Wonder Blue?"

"Yeah."

"No. What did he do wrong?"

"He lost his focus."

Alex was still confused as to what Snake was inferring.

"When you say focus, what do you mean exactly?"

"It means concentrating on the opponent in front of you and nothing else. When you're in battle, the only thing that should be on your mind is fighting your opponent. But as soon as you hit Blue with that big combo, he let a thought into his focus. And that was the thought of losing." Snake explained. "The very thought of losing the match made Blue panic. He became desperate, started doing things he wouldn't normally do."

"Yeah, I noticed that he was getting sloppy and predictable towards the end."

"That's what will happen if you let doubts or fears cloud your mind. You will fail. And that's not just for fighting. I think that applies to a lot of things in life."

"Are you saying it's wrong to have doubts and fears?"

"No, of course not!" Snake scoffed. "It's only natural for us to have doubts and fears. Everyone is guaranteed to have them. So yes, we all have them, but what I'm trying to say is that when the time comes for you to get something done, but fear and doubt is in the way, you have to overcome it. Understand?"

"Yeah, I feel ya." Alex answered. "Thanks for the words of wisdom, gramps." He joked.

"Gramps huh? I think it's time for you to move out of my house then."

"No, no! I'm sorry!"

"That's what I thought." Snake said and the two had a good laugh.


	10. Beliefs

Snake took a visit to the Smash Arena, hoping to get a chance to talk to some friends while they weren't in a match. He walked into the lobby and unfortunately into a bad situation. Marth and Zelda stood in the middle of the room arguing with each other about something, with other fighters around them feeling awkward.

"Ah hell…what is this?" He muttered and walked over to them.

"How dare you say that?!" Zelda shouted.

"It's just the truth! There is no evidence that your 'gods and goddesses' exist!" Marth shot back.

Snake put a palm to his face and shook his head.

"You've got to be kidding me. Is this really happening?" He thought. Tired of hearing the two bicker about religion, he marched over to the two of them and shouted. "What the hell are you two doing?!"

The two immediately stopped in their tracks. Marth spoke up.

"Oh! Hello Snake! I wasn't aware you'd be- "

"Shut the hell up and answer my damn question!" Snake ordered. Marth sighed and came clean.

"Zelda believes that her goddesses exist. I'm trying to tell convince her that's false."

"And he doesn't believe that they exist, and I'm telling him that they do!" Zelda blurted out.

"Ridiculous!"

"May the goddesses damn you for this!"

"ENOUGH!" Snake shouted and shut them both up. He looked at the two of them with clear irritation, and they were somewhat frightened by it. "You two a being part of a problem that I see all the time and one that I'm getting sick of."

"What are you talking about?" Zelda asked.

"It's a lack of respect for other people's beliefs, and then trying to impose your beliefs onto other people." Snake explained. "So you two don't have the same religious beliefs. Why the hell does that bother you? Does it affect you in any way? Go ahead and give me an example of how this affects your life! Go ahead!" He challenged.

Marth and Zelda sheepishly looked at each other, unable to come up with an answer.

"Yeah! That's what I thought! You two are acting like damn children. You should be ashamed of yourself!" Snake scolded them.

The two of them just looked embarrassed, having been lectured in the middle of their peers like they were children. Snake took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"Listen. There's a lesson to be learned here. You can believe whatever you choose to, there's nothing wrong with that. But you have to understand that people will have beliefs that are not the same as yours. It doesn't just go for religion. Things like politics or just your opinions on certain things like whether you think a movie or a game is good. People will have different beliefs, and you need to learn to understand and respect that. And you do NOT try to force your beliefs onto other people!" Snake lectured. "I'll leave you two to think about that."

With that he left the room, leaving Marth and Zelda to ponder about what just happened. The other fighters, relieved that the two's bickering was stopped, went back to enjoying their time.

Snake grabbed a drink of water and sat on a bench near a fountain just outside the arena. He remembered back when he was in Smash Brothers, he used to go here to take a smoke. Not anymore though, he had decided to quit a couple of years ago, greatly pleasing Peach and his other friends.

"Hey Snake!" A voice with an Italian accent called out. Snake turned to see Mario and Samus walking over to him.

"Hey. What's up?" He asked.

"We wanted to thank you for resolving that situation back there." Mario said.

"Yeah. Things were getting a little uncomfortable to say the least." Samus chuckled.

"No problem. I shouldn't have had to tell them that. They're both adults." Snake inferred. "But I won't always be there to break fights up. You got to be ready to do that yourselves, despite how uncomfortable it may be."

"You're right. We'll make sure to keep things like that to a minimum." Samus swore.

"That's right. And I'll make sure everyone else gets the memo." Mario promised. "But for now, would you mind if we sit and chat with you? It's been a while. Maybe we could catch up on things."

Snake chuckled. "Of course. Take a seat."

 **I see people get in arguments all the time over an opinion or a belief. It irritates me because nothing good ever comes out of it. It's just a huge waste of time, and a storm of immaturity. Whether you're religious or not, you are entitled to have that belief. If you have an opinion on something, you are entitled to that opinion.**

 **You can believe what you want, but DO NOT try to force people to believe what you believe. Don't be that person that says "The world would be better without religion" and don't be that person that tells someone they are damned to hell for whatever reason.**

 **There are religious people that are great friends with atheist and vice versa. Those people are friends because they don't judge a person based on their beliefs. They judge a person based on their character.**

 **This goes for other beliefs that aren't revolved around religion.**

 **So to wrap things up, be a decent person. Don't impose your beliefs and ideas on others.**


	11. Goodbye Alex! Hello New Teacher!

**So it's been a whole year since I started this story up. And with a new year approaching, I think it's time to move this story in a new direction. A direction where Snake can not only pass on his knowledge on life, but combat as well. Overall, I've just liked the idea of Snake acting as a martial arts instructor.**

* * *

It had been almost a year since Alex came to Snake for training. Since then, Alex had become one of the top fighters in the underground fighting scene. He had left with many first place awards. But his time with Snake was now ending, as the World Warrior tournament that takes place from his home was about to begin. He had packed all of his bags, and Snake had walked him out.

"You've really come a long way since we first met." Snake said. "I'm proud of you, kid."

"Wouldn't have been possible without you. You trained me, not to mention put a roof over my head for all this time." Alex replied graciously.

"I never did charge you rent for your stay here, did I? Hm…I'll get around to it." Snake joked and the two shared a small laugh.

Snake reached his hand out, and Alex was more than happy to shake his mentor's hand.

"Thank you!' Alex replied and quickly bowed his head to Snake.

"What are you still doing here? Get out there and become the next World Warrior!" Snake encouraged.

He watched his first and so-far only student depart. He thought back on the previous months Alex had spent here. All the training, lectures, and tournaments. How he saw Alex slowly tap into the potential that he sensed was in him. It was all very enjoyable.

 _Maybe I could get use to this teaching business._

* * *

Snake's mentorship of the young wrestler had caught the attention of many, most notable Crazy Hand, who often kept an eye on the Underground fight scene. Alex's performance made quite an impression on Crazy in regards to Snake's efficiency as a teacher. Snake had so much to offer. He believed the Smash fighters could learn more than a thing or two from him, even the veteran fighters. Now with Alex's departure, he decided to bring a suggestion to his brother Master Hand.

"Brother!" Crazy entered Master's office.

"What is it, Crazy?" Master sighed.

"I have a suggestion I want to make!"

Master Hand groaned. Usually Crazy's suggestions were ridiculous and impractical. He had no reason to believe this one was going to be any different.

"Alright, what is it this time?"

"I want to hire Snake as an instructor for the other fighters to train with."

"I'll thi-" Master stopped his instinctive response. When Crazy told him his ridiculous suggestion, Master would say "I'll think about it." And never bring it up again. But this was different. "Wait! Really?!"

"Yeah! What did you think I was going to suggest?"

"I…nothing! Tell me about this idea of yours."

Crazy explained to Master about Snake training Alex, and the results of said training.

"That's very interesting Crazy, but I don't see why our fighters would need a teacher. They already have their own fighting styles, their own moves. There's no reason for Snake to teach them some of his moves."

"What are you talking about? Snake didn't teach him any moves." Crazy corrected.

"Really? Then what was his training about?"

"I didn't see it for myself, but it seems to come down to Snake's expertise at analyzing combat. He just helped Alex improve upon his strengths and negate his weaknesses."

"So how would he help our fighters do that?"

"What I'm thinking is that the fighters spar with him for a little bit, and after that brief spar he would be able to tell them what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong." Crazy explained.

"I see. Though aside from his combat genius, what makes you think Snake is right for the job of a teacher. Not everyone likes being lectured or told what to do. Would they listen to Snake?" Master Hand questioned.

"Yes they will, because they all respect him!" Crazy exclaimed. "He always treated everyone like an equal. The kid fighters like him because he treated them and talked to them like adults. The women fighters liked him for not holding back in a fight just because they were women. The villain fighters respect him for his resilience and for not harping on them for their villainous actions. And everyone just couldn't help but respect how honest he is."

"That's true. And he can be brutally honest at times." Master pondered. "And now that I think about it, several months ago, Marth and Zelda were having an argument that revolved around their religious beliefs. Everyone around them just tried to ignore it, but he just walked in and shut them up, making them look like fools when he left."

"That's right!" Crazy remembered.

"We could use someone like that around…" Master thought. "All right, let's give him a call."

* * *

"You're going to make an in house dojo for me?!" Snake asked in shock over the phone.

"That's right! Along with any other equipment you'll need. None of it will come out of your pocket, it's all on the house!" Master Hand promised. "It'll be in the Smash Center, that's where the fighters hang out most of the day when they don't have matches."

"I don't know what to say…are you sure about this?" Snake questioned.

"To be honest, I'm not. But Crazy sure as hell is sure about it. This was all his idea and he really wants it to happen. He says we shouldn't let your skills go to waste."

"Wow. Didn't know he thought so highly of me."

"Snake if there's anything I have to say it's this. Even after you weren't signed on for the fourth tournament, you didn't hold any ill-will towards us. And even during these years you've been gone, I know you've been helping a lot of our fighters with their problems. I appreciate that very much, and I want to return the favor. We'd like you to come back. What do you say?"

Snake thought about the offer a little bit more before making the decision.

"All right, you got yourself a deal. It'll beat just sitting around all day." He said and smiled.

The news was announced to the other fighters, and was met with very positive reception.

"I say it's about damn time!" Samus smirked.

"Snake's going to be working here?" Dark Pit asked his rival Pit.

"That's right! He'll be able to train us. And maybe you can get a rematch with him!" Pit laughed.

"Cloud? Have you met Snake?" Bayonetta asked.

"No, but I've heard about him for sure." He responded, remembering that audio message he received from him several months back. "Why? Have you met him?"

"I went out to eat with him once. You wouldn't think it if you looked at him, but he's actually a really nice guy. You should see him sometime." She recommended.

"Well I've been meaning to get in touch with the guy. Maybe now is a good time."

* * *

By the end of the week, Snake's training room was finished construction, and today was his first day on the job. He'd train with whichever fighter decided to walk-in. And his first two trainees were about to enter.

"Hey Snake!" Pit entered the training room with Dark Pit joining him. Snake turned to face them.

"Ah! Pit and Dark Pit! What can I do for you two? Do you want a rematch for last year?" Snake asked and looked at Dark Pit.

"No. Not this time at least." Dark Pit scoffed with his arms folded.

"We're teamed together for the upcoming Team Battle Tournament, and we'd like you to train us." Pit requested.

"I thought you two were enemies."

"We were, but that was a while ago. He's not a bad guy." Pit chuckled.

"That doesn't mean we're friends! We're still rivals." Dark Pit retorted.

"Alright then, I'll train you two." Snake agreed to their request. "Seeing as the upcoming tournament is focused on teamwork, we'll start by test your willingness to cooperate with each other."

Snake went to a terminal in the training room that allowed him to spawn any equipment needed. He spawned up a crate.

"Alright. I want you two to lift this crate box up and carry it all the way across the room."

"Really? That's just a crate. We've picked them up before, they aren't that heavy!" Pit said and walked up to the crate.

"If you say so." Snake simply said and watched as Pit tried to lift the crate himself. Try as he might, nothing he did got the crate off the ground.

"Jeez! What the hell is in this thing?" Pit asked as he gasped for air.

"You must not be doing it right. Let me take care of this!" Dark Pit brushed Pit aside. Like Pit, he tried with all of his might but the crate would not budge. "What the hell is in this crate?"

"How about you two try lifting it together?" Snake condescendingly suggested.

"Fine! Pit, you lift from that side, I'll lift from here." Dark Pit ordered. The two bent down and gripped the crate. "Ready?"

"Go!" Pit shouted and the two successfully lift the crate, though it was still quite heavy.

"Good job. Now just bring it across the room."

The angel pair slowly made their way with the crate. They dropped the crate a few times along the way, but they finally got the crate to the end of the room.

"Good job boys! Looks like you two earned yourselves some water." Snake applauded.

"Oh, thank Palutena!" Pit said exhausted. Snake came up to them and placed a half empty bottle of water in between them. The two angels looked confused.

"Uh, Snake? That's only one bottle." Pit pointed out.

"Mm-hm." Snake answered.

"And it's only half-full!" Dark Pit said.

"I know. And only one of you gets to drink all of it." Snake chuckled. "As to who gets to drink it…that's for the two of you to decide. Welcome to your second test."

The two angels looked at each other nervously. They both wanted a drink desperately, but they didn't want the other to go without water. Pit's reason he would feel bad about not letting Dark Pit have any water. That and a little bit of pride. Dark Pit's reasoning was mostly about pride, but there was a part of him that just wouldn't feel right by denying Pit water.

"You have it." Dark Pit reluctantly said.

"What?!" Pit said surprised.

"Yeah you have it. I'm not that tired, and you look a little worn-out."

"Bullshit! Look at you! You're sweating like crazy, just like me. You go ahead and drink it! I can manage." Pit retorted.

Snake folded his arms and smirked, interested to see how this would play out.

"No! If I drink it, you'll complain later that you weren't able to train well because you were thisty!" Dark Pit argued.

"Yeah right! If I drink it, you'll complain about not being at full strength!"

The two glared at each other, trying to convince the other to take the drink. They knew they were getting nowhere with this. But what were they supposed to do? It didn't seem like either one would swallow their pride and conceded to drink the water. Eventually Pit thought of something.

"Hey! I know what we can do!" Pit said with a smile.

"What?" Dark Pit growled.

"How about neither of us drink the water! If we do that, then we won't have an advantage during training!"

Dark Pit's initial hostile glare changed into a small smile. "You're right! That's the fairest thing we can do. Neither of us get water, so neither of us can make excuses.

"Great! Hey Snake!" Pit called out.

"What's the final answer?" Snake asked.

"Neither of us will take it. That way things are fair."

Snake smiled. This was the answer that he wanted to hear.

"That's your decision? Very well. Now drink up!" He ordered and passed a full bottle of water to each of them. The angels were confused by this. "This was a test, remember? And you both passed, so this is your reward."

"Really?!" Pit asked for confirmation.

"Yeah. It was a good decision you two made. There was no way for you to take the water without benefiting at the expense of your teammate. Declining the water is the fair decision to make." He explained. "Anyway, drink up! You'll need your energy for our next lesson.

* * *

With the two angels now hydrated, they were ready to take on Snake's next challenge.

"Alright, for this next lesson there will be actual combat involved." Snake announced.

"Yes!" The two cheered. Snake went over to the terminal and spawned up an eight foot tall combat robot.

"You will be fighting this machine right here. Your goal is to neutralize it." Snake instructed.

"That's it? Then why don't you spawn another one so we both have something to fight? We can beat one of these by ourselves." Pit boasted.

"Really? Well if you're so confident about that, then go ahead." Snake offered.

Pit charged the massive machine and swung his blade at its mid-section. Upon contact, his weapons bounced off the robot, doing no damage.

"WHAT?!" Pit cried out before he was punched across the room by the bot. Pit quickly got back up and fired three arrows at it, but his arrows just shattered when they hit. Pit was about to charge and fight the robot again, but Dark Pit grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

"Stop it you idiot! Don't you get it?!" Dark Pit scolded his rival.

"What?!"

"This is team training! It's obvious that we can't succeed in any of these challenges unless we work together." It pained Dark Pit to admit that.

"Yeah…you're right." Pit realized and lowered his weapons.

Snake had put the robot on stand-by and went to talk to the two angels.

"Now that you've figured out that's you're hopeless in these challenges if you don't work together, would you like me to explain how to defeat this thing?"

"Yes, please." They both frowned.

"Alright. So, if this robot was made with the average metal, then Pit would've tore it apart with the first attack. However, I modified this robot."

"In what way?" Pit asked.

"I had it plated with armor."

"What kind of armor?"

"The kind of armor meant to protect something from a tank round."

The two angel's jaws dropped once they heard that.

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah. It's pretty durable."

"So basically, we can't hurt that thing?" Dark Pit asked.

"If you hit it anywhere other than the weak spot, then yeah." Snake replied.

"HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BEA- wait! Weak spot?! It has a weak spot?!" Pit questioned.

"Of course it does. You thought I would make you fight something that you couldn't beat? What's the point in that?"

"Well what's the weak spot?" Dark Pit asked.

"I'm afraid that's where the explanation ends. You're going to have to find that weak spot yourselves."

"Dammit!"

"Alright. Good luck you two!" Snake said and left the room. The angels went into their combat stances as the robot was re-activated. The machine stood tall and was ready to fight.

"Do you have any guesses as to where the weak spot might be?" Dark Pit asked.

"Well I learned first-hand that it definitely isn't the chest. I'm thinking the head. Cuz' headshots are usually the way to go."

"Well that's as good a place to start as any. Get your bow and be ready to fire! I'm gonna try and get you a clear shot."

"Got it!"

Dark Pit charged at the robot while Pit readied his bow. Once close to the robot, Dark Pit went on the defensive, focusing on dodging the machine's attacks. Eventually Pit found that clear shot, and released his arrow. Dark Pit backed away from the robot to see the results. Unfortunately, it didn't even flinch when the arrow hit its head. Rather it shifted its attention to Pit and began charging at him.

"Damn!" Pit cursed. The angel quickly pulled out his shield and held it in front of him with both arms. The robot's fist slammed into the shield, and sent Pit crashing into a wall. Though he didn't receive any damage from the punch, he sure felt the force behind it. "I feel like that could've killed me!"

With the robot coming his way, Pit stayed down and played possum. Dark Pit saw this and knew he had something planned. So, he decided to help. Firing three arrows at the robot's arm, Dark Pit got it to shift its attention back to him. With the robot's back turned to him, Pit decided to make his move. Quickly getting to his feet, Pit jumped forward and attempted to backstab the robot. But this was not the weak spot, as the armor was too strong for his weapon to penetrate. Pit feared it would turn around and crush him. Luckily for him, the robot didn't seem to notice Pit got up. However, it was now charging at Dark Pit.

"Dark Pit! WATCH OUT!" Pit cried out. The dark angel's eyes widened upon seeing the mechanical behemoth coming towards him at incredible speed. He tried to get his shield out, but the robot knocked him to the ground with a shoulder tackle. The robot pressed its foot on top of Dark Pit, preventing him from getting back up. He screamed out in pain as the robot began stomping him. Pit's eyes flared up with fury at the sight of his comrade getting tortured. He didn't know how to hurt the robot, but he refused to just stand there and do nothing. He quickly got his bow out and readied an arrow.

"GET OFF HIM, YOU BASTARD!" Pit roared and released the arrow, sending it into the robot's heel. To his surprise, the robot actually toppled over after that hit. Pit was shocked to see what just happened, but decided not to focus on that yet. He quickly flew over to Dark Pit, grabbed him, and flew them both away from the robot.

"Hey man! Are you okay?!" He asked.

"I'm fine. But how did you do that?"

"It's the heels! The heels are its weak point."

The two watched as the robot got up and was moving towards them, but limping on the left leg.

"I've got an idea." Dark Pit said and quickly whispered it to Pit.

"Alright! Sounds good!" Pit replied.

"Go on my mark!" Dark Pit ordered and drew out an arrow. They both let the robot get a little closer until-

"NOW!" Dark Pit shouted, and Pit quickly flew to the other side of the room. Dark Pit ascended and shot over the robot's head and right at Pit. Pit quickly took his shield out and angled it just right. Dark Pit's arrow hit the shield and was deflected, redirecting the arrow right into the robot's right heel. With both heels damaged, the robot shut down and collapsed.

"YEAH!" They both cheered, finally beating the machine. Snake came into the room shortly afterward.

"I'm impressed. You two actually found the Achilles's Heel the bot had." Snake said. He handed both of them Heart Containers to heal their injuries.

"To be honest, I found it through pure luck. I wasn't aiming at anything specific, I was just trying to shoot him." Pit admitted.

"Maybe so, but I think the important thing is why you randomly shot him."

"What do you mean?"

"You wanted to protect your teammate, so you shot blindly at the robot knowing that your attacks might not do anything." Snake explained. "Remember, this training wasn't focused on your strength as fighters. This training was about how effective you two can be when working as a team. And based on the results, I'd say you're very capable."

"Didn't think I'd ever hear that." Dark Pit chuckled.

"Well that's it for today you two. Thanks for coming."

"Thank you Snake." The two angels said and left. Snake smiled after they were gone.

 _Yeah. I can get used to this teaching business._


	12. Mellow

Peach moved left, right, left again. Dodging the attacks her opponent threw her way. She evaded an attack and tried to counter-attack, but her opponent caught her arm.

"Gotta be a lot quicker than that Peach!" Snake, her opponent, said to her. She smiled at her sparring partner. Snake tossed her back but she was ready, and did a recovery roll as she hit the ground. She did a low sweep, causing Snake to leap back to avoid it. She rolled forward and struck Snake with a dashing kick to the torso.

"How was that?" she asked.

"Better." Snake grinned.

Peach went on the offensive, attacking Snake with a barrage of punches and kicks. He dodged, blocked, used every method of defending against them. He finally countered with a left cross to Peach's right cheek. He went for a roundhouse kick, but Peach ducked under it just in time. She lifted her leg up and kicked Snake right under the chin, making him stagger back. She charged forward for a dash attack, but this proved to be a mistake. Using her own momentum against her, he grabbed her arm and easily slammed her to the ground with a CQC throw. Before they could continue sparring, a bell rang and signified the end.

"Well we're out of time." Snake said.

"Darn! And it was just getting fun! What did you think Zelda?" She asked the Princess of Hyrule, who she brought with her to Snake's training room.

Zelda looked shocked by the performance. She had never seen Peach fight the way she did during that sparring match.

"Peach, I've never seen you use some of those techniques before! Where did they come from?" She questioned.

"He taught them to me. Didn't I tell you?"

"No!"

"Oh! I must have forgot!" She giggled.

"Yeah. I used to spar with her once a month upon her request. I'd teach her a few things. Now she comes in every day." Snake chuckled.

Zelda looked at the man. He looked happy, calm, approachable. This was a complete opposite of how he was when he first entered the third tournament.

"Snake. Can I ask you a question?" Zelda spoke.

"Sure."

"When did you…how should I say it…mellow out?"

Snake looked perplexed by what she was asking, and Peach along with him. Zelda felt the need to specify. "What I meant is things like training people, helping people with personal problems, you use to not do these things."

Snake nodded as he realized what she meant. "Oh yeah. I used to be a real bastard back then. You're asking how that changed?"

"Well I'd never phrase it in such a blunt manner, but yes that's what I'm asking."

"That's a good question." Snake said, sitting down on a chair and pondered the question. "I guess you can say you people rubbed off on me."

Zelda looked at Peach confused. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you people were nice to me."

"Huh?"

"Why don't we go back in time for a bit…"

* * *

 _Let's start back when we just defeated Tabuu, and put an end to the Subspace Incident. A party was thrown in celebration of this achievement. I never was a party guy. I'm not big on them now, but I especially wasn't big on them then. I decided to just sit outside and wait for the party to finish. But someone came looking for me._

Snake heard a door open behind him.

"There you are!" a woman said, who turned out to be Peach. Snake turned a bit to look at her before turning back to stare at the sky.

"How come you aren't inside with the rest of us?" Peach asked kindly.

"I don't like crowds." Is all Snake said. He was hoping she would be warded off by his cold demeanor, yet she was still there. "Is there something you need?"

"Yeah I was looking for you."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to give you this piece of the cake." She said and presented a plate to him. His eyes widened when he heard this.

"Really?"

"Of course. You weren't there when the cake was brought in, so I got you a piece before the whole cake was gone.

 _I didn't understand. We barely knew each other, and yet you chose to take the time to make sure I got a piece of cake._

"Thank you, but I'm really not that hungry." Snake lied. Yet the smile on Peach's face was unwavering.

"That's okay. I'll put it in a box for you so you can eat it when you get home!"

He couldn't believe it. She would just not take a hint.

"Okay…thank you." Was all he could say. Peach then stood beside Snake and gazed at the sky with him.

"So, how are you liking this place?" She asked.

Snake rolled his eyes. " _Great! Small talk!"_ he thought to himself.

"I'm still getting used to some of the 'inhabitants'."

"What do you mean by that?"

"A lot of the creatures here don't exist where I come from. So, it's kind of weird seeing things like a pink, ball shaped alien that likes to eat. Other than that, the place is nice." He admitted.

"That's good to hear. I can't wait for the tournament to start. What about you?"

Snake just stood there and remained silent. He looked troubled.

"Is there something wrong?" Peach worried.

"What are you doing?" Snake bluntly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you talking to me? Usually everyone just stays away from me. That's how I prefer it. But you came to me for chit-chat. Why?"

"Well because you seem like an interesting guy, so I'd like to know more about you." She started.

"I wouldn't be so sure. You won't like what you'll find." He said, trying to convince her to not waste her time.

"And you also seem like you could use a friend."

"I…don't know what gave you that idea. I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine." He hissed. "Now leave me alone."

"No."

 _What?!_

"I think you put yourself down too much. You're a better person than you make yourself out to be! I'm sure you could make a lot of friends here if you let people in."

* * *

"No one had ever been so bold and persistent towards me when I tried to brush them off. But you did, Peach. It made me willing to hear you out. Do you remember what you promised me?"

Peach laughed once she remembered it. "That I wouldn't stop pestering you until you started making friends."

"That's right. And it worked."

"That's interesting, but that doesn't seem like that would change you this much." Zelda said.

"You're right. I said you people were nice to me. It wasn't just Peach." Snake reminded. "I'm sure you both know that I'm not the most social person in the universe. I made friends with a lot of people here through what I'm good at…fighting."

"There's other ways you can make friends, you know?" Peach teased.

"Well actions speak louder than words. And I can learn a lot about someone by fighting them." He explained. I remember the first time I helped anyone here with their personal problems, it was during a fight…"

* * *

 _A team battle. Me and Donkey Kong against Ness and Lucas. DK got eliminated first, leaving me to face the two of them alone. They were quiet the team. If Ness had an extra stock, they would have won, neither of them eliminated. But that wasn't the case. During their group assault, Ness got a little careless, and I used that opportunity to punish him and knocked him out of the match. It was just me and Lucas. But with his partner eliminated, Lucas was not himself._

Upon seeing his partner getting knocked out, fear began crawling down the blonde boys back. He put his fists up as Snake approached him. He held them up weakly, and his hands were shaking like crazy. Snake rushed forward and decked Lucas with a right cross. Lucas struck back with a desperate kick that was easily avoided by Snake and received a knee to the gut in return. The battle quickly became one-sided, Lucas was getting curb-stomped. It was difficult for the spectators to watch. And quite frankly, Snake didn't feel good about it at all.

" _Something's not right."_ Snake thought. He towered above Lucas, who was struggling to get up. He grabbed the collar of the boy's shirt and lifted him up. Snake glared into the kid's eyes. Lucas shuddered in Snake's grasp.

"What the hell are you doing, kid?!" He scolded.

"W-what?" Lucas weakly asked.

"You're barely putting up a fight! What's the problem?" Snake interrogated. He let go of Lucas, and just stood over him while he laid on the ground.

"I-I…"

"What is it?!"

"I'm not strong enough." Lucas answered.

"What?!"

"I said I'm…"

"I know what you said!" Snake cut him off. "You're wrong! You're being an idiot! That's what the problem is!"

"What?" Lucas looked up at him.

"Stand up! Back on your feet!" Snake ordered. Lucas slowly but surely began to stand up. "I've read your file kid. I know what you've done, and what you're capable of. So I know for a fact that you are not weak!"

Lucas was at a loss for words. He didn't understand what Snake was doing.

"If you were weak, you would have died on your adventures long ago. But you didn't! You are strong Lucas, definitely much stronger than me when I was your age! The only thing that's weak about you is your own self-confidence! That's what's holding you back!"

Lucas clinched his fist, as his mind thought about Snake's words.

"I am not knocking you out of this arena until you start believing in yourself! I will knock you around for hours if that's what it takes! Is that what I'll have to do, kid?!" Snake threatened.

Snake's fist started going towards Lucas' face. Lucas snapped out of his thoughts and reacted instinctively. "NO!" He shouted and blasted Snake away with a PK Fire. Snake was launched a good distance and landed on his back. Though the attack was painful, Snake had nothing but a smile on his face as he got up.

Lucas was awestruck. He looked at his hands, trying to take in that he just did that.

"Now do you understand?" Snake asked. Lucas turned his focus back to Snake. "You are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. If you doubt yourself, it will make you weak. I know this is going to sound cheesy, but what I'm saying is you need to believe in yourself."

Lucas smiled. "I understand." However, he was still curious about something. "But…why did you help me?"

Snake eyes widened from that question. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure himself. He just smirked.

"Forget about that! Let's just continue our match!" He said, hoping to dodge the question.

"Oh! Right!" Lucas realized and stood ready to fight.

* * *

"I ended up winning, but Lucas put up one hell of a fight, just like I knew he could." Snake ended.

"I see." Zelda nodded.

"But you didn't answer his question." Peach pointed out, causing Snake to look puzzled at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you help him?" She echoed the question.

"Oh! Yeah, I never did get around to answering that, did I?" Snake realized. "Truthfully, at the time I didn't really know. I just instinctively did it. Maybe I wanted a proper challenge. Maybe I just hated seeing a kid with so much potential not know his own strength. I don't really think it matters. What does matter is how I felt afterward."

"Okay." Peach nodded and waited for Snake to continue.

"After seeing the kid smile and using his strength, I felt good. Really good. It was a foreign feeling to me at the time. I was never really interested in other people's lives or problems. But when I finally helped, I got that feeling. That feeling of…inner peace. It made me reconsider my outlook on my life. Why was I so angry? Was there any good reason for me to be so selfish? The answer was there was no good reason. That's when I decided it was time for me to shed the brooding tough guy act, and just lightened up a bit." Snake smiled. "So, does that answer your question Zelda?"

"Yes, it does. Thank you."

"Sure. Now let's get back to sparring!"

* * *

 **Since this chapter is all about helping others, I'll help someone out.**

 **Paradigm of Writing, very good writer and good guy, has recently began a story called Syrenet. He's putting a lot of effort into it, could be his Magnum Opus. Most of you probably know about him, but for those who don't, go ahead and give his new story a read.**


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